Hero Unknown
by Bangarrang
Summary: Roxas is the hero everyone forgot about. Xion is-was-his best friend. But someone remembers Roxas: AVALANCHE, and they're out for blood. But, whose blood? Sequel to Inheritance.
1. Chapter 1

Hey you guys! I am very happy to present the first chapter in Hero Unknown!

Disclaimer: I didn't own it in the first story, I don't own it now.

~x~

A beam of sun shines in the girl's face, waking her. She opens her eyes and squints, then she smiles.

Standing over her is the love of her life. "Hey...Riku..." She murmurs. He grins a little. The girl sits up, leaning back on her forearms. She takes in her surroundings:

A spotless, white room. Blinding white bedsheets. Strange, beeping silver machines.

"Riku...where am I?" She asks, very confused.

He shifts his weight, putting his hands in his pockets.

"The hospital." He mumbles.

The girl winces. "Geostigma?" The disease that had plagued her everyday. It had been getting worse, and she was afraid.

Riku nods.

The ravenette covers her face with her hands, devastated.

Her boyfriend sits down beside her, holds her in his arms.

"It'll be ok Xion." He tells her quietly.

She looks up into his face, tears rolling slowly down her face. But instead of seeing his electric teal eyes, she sees sad blue ones.

She is seeing another boy!

He has gravity-defying dirty blonde hair, a fair complexion, perfect except for the hardly-healed gash down his cheek. The black rings of insomnia circle his irises.

Xion gasps. The boy's unfamiliar face morphs into Riku's. He knits his brow, concerned.

"What's wrong?"

She blinks. "I-um...nothing." A small smile. "Heh heh, you cut your hair." She reaches up and ruffles his silvery tresses.

Riku opens his mouth to say something, bur is interrupted by a loud BEEP BEEP BEEP.

Xion looks over and sees her lifeline go flat.

"No, Xion!" Riku yells. The girl is confused. She's still alive, Riku can see that.

Suddenly, Riku evaporates into nothing. Xion screams.

~Roxas~

Even though this is the second story in this series, and you should know all this (because who reads the sequel to a book they've never read?) I'll introduce myself anyway.

My name is Roxas Fair. I'm a Nobody. That's the name I thought of for my 'kind', I guess. I'm part SOLDIER, which is a group of genetically-engineered super humans, and part Centra, a race of people born to protect the worlds and all their inhabitants. On top of that, I wield this weapon called the Keyblade.

Cool, right?

Uh. No.

The reason I call myself a Nobody is because there's no one in existence that knows who I am. I had to erase my best friend's memory of me, and by doing so I caused a chain reaction. Now, nobody remembers me.

Get it?

Back to the present.

I'm standing on the ledge at the top of the clock tower. The sun is setting, so everything is gold and red and orange.

I take off my black gloves and look at my left hand. I'm left-handed, so my Keyblade appears in that hand. After countless summons, my palm is scratched-up and scarred. The Keyblade doesn't just 'fit' into my hand, it comes the way it wants. Even if that means the handle ends up carving into my palm.

I hold my hand up, the scars in sharp relief in the crimson light of the sun.

Suddenly, I feel what seems to be a brick wall slam into my back.

I'm falling.

I don't scream, I know better than that. But fear? Yeah, that's there. As I fall, everything starts to fade to white.

I hit the ground, hard.

~Xion~

My eyes fly open. I sit up quickly and look around. Where am I?!

Oh...wait...

I'm in my bedroom, of course. I sigh loudly and flop back down on my pillow.

"The same dream..." I mumble. It has been a year since I woke up from that coma, a year since I saw that boy, instead of Riku. And every day since then, I have had the dream.

I glance at the clock. It reads 6:27. I groan and get out of bed. How is it possible that on a school day, I want to sleep till noon, but on a Saturday, I'm suddenly an early bird?

As I slump to the kitchen, I hear the tv and the loud clanging of pots and pans.

"Dad?" I yawn, appearing in the door.

My dad stands in front of the oven, cooking...something.

My mom left when I was about nine years old. So it was just me and my dad.

I wouldn't have it any other way.

"Hey, Xi-bunny." Dad says, turning away from the eggs on the stove.

I purse my lips. "Don't call me that..." I whine. Dad chuckles and musses my hair.

"Well...I could call you..." He starts.

I put my hands over my ears. "No...not my full name!"

I close my eyes tight.

"Xionettila Bito!"

~Roxas~

I wake up on a wooden surface. Splinters push into my fingers, but I can't move. My eyes are still closed.

Then I hear the strangest sound:

"Dammit Angeal! Didcha have to push my son offa building?!"

Is that my dad...?

"Cloud, you've got a flower in your hair."

Mom...?

"Kairi, do my feet look big?"

But he's...

"Aqua, where're my-?"

"On your head, Reno."

"OUCH!"

"You're such a pain in the-!"

"Zack!"

"Is my baby ok?"

I hear light, tapping footsteps. I make myself open my eyes.

And I see my mother.

~Xion~

Dad and I eat breakfast in unusual silence. I open my mouth to break it but instead of words, I hear a car pull up.

I hop up and look out the window. It's Riku! I step outside. "I'll be right there!"

The window is already rolled down so I hear him laugh and say "Nice pj's!"

I run inside, then to my room, where I throw on some grey shorts and a red shirt that says M&Ms on the back.

I have no time to brush my teeth, so I shove about five sticks of mint gum into my mouth and run out the door.

"Bye dad!" I yell as I bolt past.

"Bye sweetheart." He says.

I zoom out to Riku's dark blue Mercury Cougar, ripping open the passenger side door.

"Is there somewhere you have to be?" He asks.

I smooth my hair down and exhale, finally able to.

"No, I just uh..." I try to say I just felt rushed, but no words come. I'm wrenched backwards into...

White.

~Roxas~

I sit up and look around. It seems I'm in that church. The one my mom used to live in. Surrounding me are people I never thought I'd see ever again.

Mom.

Dad.

Cloud sits leaning against the end of an old pew. A young woman and young man I recognize as Aqua and Reno stand next to the stage, Reno's arm around Aqua's waist. Sora and Kairi sit together on one of the few pews (I made a rhyme!) not toppled over, their hands clasped between them. Jessie is next to Cloud, staring at him sadly.

Mom is next to me, grass in her hair. I'm lying next to the garden. Dad is across from us, standing beside a very tall, very serious-looking man with long black hair.

I look around, confused. Then I look to my mother for an explanation.

"This is your Promised Land, Roxas." She says.

I stare at her and am about to ask her what that meant, but she went ahead and explained.

"This is sort of what you imagine Heaven to be like. Even if you don't know it."

Uh...

I again look around at my dead friends and family.

I take a deep breath and say

"Yes Sora, your feet are huge."

~Xion~

I open my eyes and find myself balancing on the tiny ledge on the clock tower.

How I know that, I have no clue.

I look to my right and see the blonde boy. Scarless, a small, blissful smile on his face. His eyes are closed and the wind causes his hair to wave.

I have no will of my own, so when I clutch at his white and red shirt, I do not mean it.

"Is this safe?!" I yell, without any control over the words.

He opens his sorrow-less eyes and looks at me, cocking his head.

"Do you trust me?" He asks in a quiet voice.

I blink and slip my hand into his.

I open my mouth to reply, but then I'm pulled back, to the real world.

Real.

Right?

X

How's that for a first chapter? *Smirk*

I apologize in advance for all the Rikushi there will be. But remember:

It's. Not. Real.

Ok, please review and I'll update very soon. I expect at least 3.

Ok, um...bye.


	2. Chapter 2

I am very sad to say that this will be my last chapter.

You guys: Collective gasp.

Don't worry it's only for a few weeks, I'm getting my iPod fixed. Boo.

Ok below is a little explanation for X-blade025, so the rest if you can skip ahead.

X-blade025: ok, here's a summery: Roxas is half SOLDIER (super enhanced humans) and half Centra (a race born to protect the worlds) and he also wields the Keyblade. With me so far? K. Xion, his best friend, is in danger because AVALANCHE (the bad guys) are a huge threat. So, he wipes her memory. If you have anymore questions...ask in the review. You'll get the answer in two-to-four weeks.

On to chapter 2.

~Xion~

"...threatened to send me to military school." Riku says. I look over at him, panting slightly.

The car is moving, gliding smoothly across the well-worn asphalt. Riku seems to be telling me a story.

Didn't he notice me disappear? I mean...it certainly felt like I was on the ledge, holding the strange boy tightly. I felt the fear of being so high, and I felt the harsh wind and the sun in my eyes.

Maybe it was a dream. Maybe I fell asleep. Maybe it was like a uh...a day-mare.

Yeah, right.

I tune back into Riku and nod and laugh and comment at all the right times.

The car ride becomes silent, and I am driven to breathe on the window and doodle with my finger.

I draw a spaceship, an alien to go in it, and a goofy-looking human to be abducted.

When that scene clears itself away, I create a flower with a smily face, a Labradoodle with wings, a shooting star.

Suddenly, it is like in my day-mare. I can't act or move for myself.

I draw a key, a drum set, a syringe.

I am so scared I don't notice Riku stop the car (in the MIDDLE OF THE ROAD!) and look over at me, leaning forward on the console.

"What's that, Xion?" He asks, as if genuinely curious.

Then, it's like someone hands the controls back to me. I drop my hand a little and look over to Riku.

"Oh um...just...stuff."

~Roxas~

I look at my dad, who is talking to the kind-of-scary man next to him.

"Who...?" I know everyone in here, at least by name, except that guy.

"That was your father's best friend," Mom whispered. "You know, besides Cloud."

I glance over at Xion's dad. His head is mostly down, and I don't think he's said anything. He just looks...I don't know...not sad but...numb. Unfeeling.

Dead.

"What's wrong with Cloud?" I whisper.

Mom smiled sadly. "We were all like that when we first um...when we first came here."

Now I'm very confused. "But...I thought this was a place in my mind. So you guys...aren't real."

She shook her head. "Nope. This is real. It's just what you imagine it. You see 'the after life' to be in the church, with your friends and family."

Wait...

"'The after life'?" I say. "Am I...dead?"

Sora runs over, he hugs me. Very tightly.

"Heya Roxy!" He yelps.

Behind the waltzing black spots, I see my mother trying very hard not to laugh as my face started to turn blue.

"So...ra...!" I choked out.

He releases me and beams. "What's up?"

I cough. "Nothing..."

Suddenly, everything starts to glow.

"What's going on?" I demand.

"It's not your time, sweetheart." My mom tells me, squeezing my hand.

I get this funny feeling...like I'm...floating. Drifting away.

I look down and see I'm mostly. transparent. Like a ghost.

I start to feel very, very sleepy. My eyes are halfway closed and I'm leaning forward quite a lot.

Then I hear a whisper that sounds like "He's leaving."

A scuffle noise...wait that's not the right word, um...

Suddenly, I feel someone's hands on my shoulders. They shake me roughly, but not enough to make me wake up more.

"Mmhmmflflle..." I mumble.

"Listen, Roxas." I hear someone-I'm pretty sure it's Cloud-say. "Look at me."

It takes a lot of energy and motivation, but I finally raise my head and look at the fuzzy blue smudges I assume are his eyes.

"Ye..ah...?" Why canhe lemme sleep?

A/N That sentence was intentional.

"Roxas. Please. Protect. Xion. With your life."

"Cloud." My mom whispers in a pleading voice.

"I...will..."

They both look at me.

Cloud says something else, but I can't understand him, so I just nod.

Cloud takes his hands off my shoulders and I fall backwards. In the back of my mind, I am a little afraid I'll bust my head on the hard floor. But I don't. Or I do, but I don't feel it.

~x~

"Ah!" I yell, sitting up. I look around and see I'm lying on the ground next to the clock tower. I look up and see...

Oh no...a person I used to know...

Thomas.

Nice.

"Yo," He begins. "What were you doing on the tower?"

I quickly think of a lie.

"My uh...cat...got stuck up there...so I had to...rescue it..."

Did I mention I'm a terrible liar?

He gives me a "How stupid do you think I am?" look.

"Look man," I say. "I really can't talk right now, I gotta go."

I start running, even though I hear him shouting after me.

I run.

~Xion~

Riku and I eventually arrive at Main Street. He has to park by the old train lot though, because the roads in the middle of the town are only for skateboards and the tram.

We walk around, my hand in his, not really going anywhere.

"Hey, Riku?" I say, not really meaning it as a question.

"Hm?" He asks, looking at something in the opposite direction.

"Let's go by the candy shop." Little does anyone (besides me) know, Riku actually loves candy.

He looks at me. "Really?" I don't know why he's so surprised. It's not like I'm against sweets.

"Yeah, on me."

Riku shakes his head. "No way. I'm not letting you buy anything for me."

I sigh, as if this is the let-down of the century.

"Fine oh great Riku, King if the Chivalryness!" I say with a flourish.

He cocks an eye brow. "Xion, that's not a word." He says, like a patient English teacher would say to an incompetent student.

I punch him lightly in the arm and roll my eyes.

Suddenly, the sound of wheels thundering over the brick fills the air. We turn and see a boy-about sixteen or seventeen-speed by on a white skateboard.

"Stop! Come back here you...you delinquent!" A blonde man with a funny accent stops next to us, panting and shaking his fist.

He turns to Riku and says "Hey kid, I'll give you fifty bucks if you catch that street urchin and bring the board back."

Riku turns to me and I shrug.

"Ok, we'll be right back."

And so we take off.

~Roxas~

I don't know why I did it, it just...happened.

I was running, trying to get away to somewhere I could think.

And so I stole a skateboard.

Now, I'm riding down Main Street, trying not to run into/over anyone/thing while getting away from Luxord, the owner of Sports Stuff. He apparently had some bad gambling problems, and was court-ordered to open a store and stay away from all casinos and any card games anywhere.

Anyway, down Main Street and to the Tram Common. I'm about to pass the candy store when I see Xion.

I almost stop, but then I remember she doesn't know who I am, and I need to outrun an angry gamble addict.

I'm riding into an ally that has a very sharp turn, when I hear footsteps. Light thuds and heavy cluncks.

I had figured someone is following me, but why are there two sets of footsteps?

I know I can't risk looking, so I just took the turn and found myself in the back streets.

I've been back here several times, but not enough to know a way out.

At one point, I do glance back, and I see my pursuers are Xion and Riku.

I wonder if I can kill myself by running this thing into a wall.

I finally find a very tall chain-link fence. I ditch the board and begin to climb.

Over the fence and into another part of the back streets, almost a mirror.

I glance back again and see Riku swing himself over the fence easily, but Xion can't make it. Riku takes off without even looking back. I almost turn around right there and hit him in the face, but I don't.

I just keep running.

~x~

Riku slows down a little to think of a plan.

He sees Roxas go around a building. He notices the opening where the blonde will come back out onto the road.

Riku runs to the opening. He looks around on the ground for...

Oh, that'll work...

Riku holds up the piece of aluminum piping he had found, listening for Roxas' heavy-with-exhaustion footfall.

Now normally a SOLDIER should be able to run for hours on end, but Roxas was very young and most of the time instead of helping him, his powers only handicap him.

Either it's a huge building or Roxas had slowed down, whatever the reason, it takes a while for Riku to finally hear those footsteps.

Riku waits until he saw the glint of Roxas' golden hair to swing the pipe. He closes his eyes and his arms move, almost on their own. With much more force than he meant.

He hears a yelp, then a crack that makes him sick to his stomach, then a loud thud as Roxas' hits the ground.

Riku just sort of stands there for a second, his eyes still closed. He doesn't want to look at the damage he did.

Finally he opens his eyes, puts the pipe down and kneels next to the teen.

Riku pushes the boy's sleeve up and holds two fingers against his wrist.

A pulse.

As Riku let's out a huge sigh of relief, he hears even more footsteps.

"R-Riku?" Oh no, it's Xion.

Riku doesn't want Xion to see what he has done, but sometimes it doesn't matter what you want.

~Xion~

The boy we had been chasing is lying on the ground, unconscious. Now that he's not moving, I can get a good look at him.

He is wearing a long black coat and black clothes underneath. I look at his face.

It's the boy from my dreams,

I gasp and am by the boy's side in an instance.

I swallow hard. Then I look at the injury.

His right eye is bleeding really bad, and there's already dark bruising, not unlike my Geostigma, around his eye.

I don't ask questions, it was probably an accident.

Probably.

I pull the white sash out of my belt loops and rip up the end. Once I have enough pieces, I layer them over the boy's eye. Then, I tie the rest around his head. His bangs flop over the injury, so you barely see it.

I shake his shoulder, very gently.

"Wake up." I whisper.

His other eye opens.

He gasps and sits up, nearly causing us to hit heads.

The blonde boy shoots up and turns to run.

"Wait!" I grab the end of his coat.

He stops and looks back at me.

"I'm sorry Xion."

Maybe we are in one of my dreams.

X

Well, that's it for a while, I'm sorry! I gotta go.

See ya!


	3. Chapter 3

I'M BACK! Yeah I know it was only a few days, but the guy that's supposed to fix this thing is sick, so I'll be able to post a few more chapters.

Just because I was feeling really generous (also known as insane) this chapter is full of gore, humor, a little Rokushi, Vanitas, a new word for someone with black hair, flashbacks and, for the Roxas fangirls, Roxas shirtless. Hehe...I am very proud of this chap.

Without further adieu, the disclaimer. :P

I don't own Kingdom Hearts or anything else mentioned in this story.

Chapter 3

~Roxas~

I'm such an idiot.

Yeah, it was a great idea to go into town, steal a skateboard and get whacked in the face by a grey-headed rich kid.

I'm standing in the doorway of Xion's old room. I lean against the door, then yelp, a sudden pain blooming from my injured eye.

"Damn you Riku..." I hiss.

I slide down the wall to the floor. Even though I'm not tired at all, my head falls forward and I slip into sleep.

~x~

Roxas opens his uninjured eye. Looking around he discovers he is in total darkness. A light shines down from above him. His hands are tied together behind his back.

Oh yeah, and he's shirtless.

He hears a tapping sound. A figure walks into the light.

It's her ( in Roxas' mind: '...um...Na...Nami...Naminé!').

Roxas stares.

'It's her...' He thinks.

She smiles and sashays over.

"Hello, Roxas." She says.

Roxas says something really intelligent like, "Uhm..."

Naminé reaches over and runs her finger down the side of Roxas' face.

He winces.

Blood begins to pour, drop by drop, down his face. Naminé leans forward and whispers in his ear,

"I love my SOLDIERS. They don't break."

She moves and bites his cheek, making him whimper slightly. Naminé straightens up and cocks her head to the side.

"Well, I suppose any toy can be broken if it's played with too much."

She walks around him. Roxas tries to keep her in sight, but he can't move.

Naminé slashes at his back. She seems to be writing on his skin, the words are made of blood.

"S-Stop it!" Roxas gasps, biting his lip.

Naminé ignores him, she isn't finished.

"Please!" He begs, but his pleas fall on deaf ears.

"STOP!" He screams, panting.

She does, her finger hovering over an unripped part of his skin.

The girl walks back around and slaps Roxas, hard, across the face.

She puts her hands on his chest and pushes hard.

He falls back, scraping his back even more. Blood is smeared on the concrete floor. His vision clouds as Naminé glares down at him.

"Toys aren't supposed to talk." She growls, walking out of the light.

~Roxas~

I sit up quickly. My hand goes to my face.

I feel a new wound.

My back aches terribly.

But...how?

I look around and nearly have a heart attack;

Next to me, barely missing my fingers, is Cloud's sword, buried in the carpet.

I stare at it, unbelieving.

~One year earlier~

Roxas stands on the bridge, over looking the rushing waters of Twilight River. He has just left the hospital.

Just left Xion.

In his hand, he holds the Buster Sword (but he doesn't know that is it's name). He rears his arm back and throws it, his years of baseball pitching kicking in. The sword spirals into oblivion.

Also known as the river.

~Back to the Present~

I thought I got rid of it.

I'm about to cuss Cloud out when I hear a loud bark.

I look into the hallway.

Almost-heart-attack number two.

Next to me, a very large silvery wolf sits, panting.

I stare at it. It stares back.

I swallow.

He (I'm assuming. It's huge!) leans forward and licks me in the face. I sit there for a moment, my eyes closed and my face scrunched up.

I pull my hand into my sleeve and wipe the slobber off, then I open my eyes and glare.

"What was that for?" I demand.

He lays down on the ground and bats at his face with a ginormas paw and whines.

I roll my eyes. He shoots back up and jerks his head, then turns and trots down the hall. I yank the sword out of the ground and follow.

We leave the house, him in the lead and running. I have to sprint to keep up with the huge animal. Occasionally, he looks back to make sure I'm still with him.

Going through town, no one looks twice at the strange boy running after a wolf with a giant sword.

Man, I love this place.

We finally arrive at our destination:

The cemetery.

I stop at the rusty black gate.

"No...way..." I say, leaning against a tree.

He nods (nods!) and jerks his head.

I shake my head.

He takes the hem of my coat in his teeth and starts dragging me (literally) through the gate and up the hill.

I'm being dragged through the grass on my stomach. I try to stop by digging my fingers into the ground, but I only succeed in pulling up weeds.

The sword, which I am still holding in my hand, is cutting through the grass as if it wasn't rustier than my dad's car.

Finally, we got to the top of the hill, past the tombs of my family. Turns out, there's a very sharp drop-off, it's like a cliff.

A small bit of land extends into open air, the wolf puts me down in front of it.

He walks to the little strip and paws at a spot in the dirt, then looks at me, then at the sword.

He wants me to put the sword in the ground!

...ok...

I'm about to stab it into the ground a couple inches away, when he growls at me.

I look over and raise my eye brow. I move it over to the spot he had pawed at. He stops growling.

I move it back to where I originally had hovered.

Growl.

Where he wanted.

No growl.

Back.

Growl.

I snicker. Then he moves behind me and starts to push me to the edge of the cliff.

"Ah! Stop! I'll put it where you want!" I yell.

He does stop, I quickly stab it where he wants.

"Happy?!" I demand.

He actually lifts the corners of his mouth and bobs his head.

I straighten and suddenly a burst of pain shoots up my back. I cry out in pain and fall backwards into the grass, unable to move. The wolf flops down on the other side of the blade and drools on my hand.

I hear hurrying footsteps and see a worried face, but I'm barely conscious.

~Xion~

I don't know if it was good luck, bad luck, or just coincidence, but the moment I walk around the corner of the Buy-and-Sell items shop, I see the boy.

He is carrying a huge, flat sword that is nearly taller than him (which occasionally digs a deep scratch in the ground) and following a huge, silver gray wolf.

I stand there like an idiot for a few seconds before taking off after him, my dark blue backpack bouncing on my shoulders.

I notice that he will look back every so often, like he knows I'm following him, so I get in the habit of darting behind trees and cars, into alleyways.

How is no one noticing this?!

After a very long run, we arrive at the cemetery.

The cemetery?

The boy stops in front of the gate, I jump behind a bush. He leans against the tree, panting.

"No...way..." I hear him say.

The wolf seems to nod. The boy shakes his head. The wolf bites down on the end of his coat and starts dragging him through the gate and into the graveyard. I wait until they get to the very top of the hill and sprint up after.

I squat behind a particularly large tombstone near the odd couple. "Sorry Miss...Aquamarine Strife." I mumble, looking at the engraving.

I knit my eyebrows, it seems familiar. "Hm. Pretty name."

I look back up and see the two are on a narrow piece of land hanging out over the cliff. The boy is swinging the tip of the sword over the ground and laughing, his wolf growling on and off.

Then the wolf got behind the blonde and started pushing him towards the edge.

I suck in my breath. But then the boy shouts "Ah! Stop! I'll put it where you want!"

He turns and stabs the blade into the ground. I cock my head to the side and stare, wondering why the wolf wanted that sword in that specific spot in the ground.

I look and see the boy straighten his back, then cry out in pain and fall back. I gasp and run over to him.

His sky blue eyes are barely opened, a deep gash running down the length of his face bleeds badly.

"What happened?" I ask.

He blinks slowly. "Toy...she...ehhh..."

"I'll get help." I say, standing and turning to go.

I take off running and nearly scream when I look over and see something large and silver running next to me. But when I realize it's the (apparently) friendly wolf, I relax a bit.

I get out on the streets and see a boy with spiky black hair, black jeans and red t-shirt.

"Hey!" I yell. He turns and I stop the moment his startling gold eyes meet mine.

"Yes?" He asks in a snobby, impatient voice, like I was wasting his time by existing.

"I...um...I need help."

He stares at me, one eyebrow lifted.

"I don't have any money." He informs me. I shoot him a 'you are gross' look and say, "My uh...there's a boy up there in the cemetery and he's hurt. Can you help?"

He tilts his head to the side.

"Why are you asking me?"

"Because you're the first person I saw. And you look like you'd be pretty comfortable in a graveyard." I smirk.

The boy shoots me a dirty look, grabs my wrist and stalks toward the rusty gate.

I notice the wolf is nowhere to be found.

We run up the hill, dodging gray and white and black gravestones.

Wow he's a fast runner. Like, I'm-surprised-my-arm-isn't-dislocated-yet fast. We get to the top very soon.

But the boy is no where to be found.

The amazing-eyed noirette gives me a "Am I missing something?" look.

I look around frantically.

"Where is he? He was just here!" I say.

My irate companion drops my hand and throws his arms in the air. "Who?! Where is who?!"

My shoulders drop and I sink to the ground. I hang my head and clasp my hands in my lap.

"Him. The boy from my dreams. I have to find him." I whisper.

He drops to one knee like a basketball sub waiting to be put in. He puts a tentative hand on my shoulder.

"I," he begins. "have no idea what you are talking about. But I'm...sorry. Whatever it is."

I sniff, just now realizing the trail of tears creeping down my cheeks. "It's ok." I mumble.

He helped me up and extended his hand to me.

"My name's Vanitas." He says.

I slowly put my hand out to meet his. "I'm Xion."

He tilts his head. "That. Is a weird name."

I scrunch up my nose and say, "And Vanitas isn't?"

He crosses his arms and leans back a little. "Uh. No. It's the name of a sexy beast."

I put my hands on my hips. Um...I don't really have hips but...moving on.

"Is your mother blind?"

Vanitas actually smiles. He pinches my cheek and walks down the hill.

I sit down next to the boy's huge sword. Exhausted, I lean my head on the cold metal and fall asleep.

X

So much sleeping and unconsciousness!

That was a hectic chapter. That's all I have to say.

I'm trying to decide if I should break up Riku and Xion. Maybe I'll kill Riku...mwahahaha...


	4. Chapter 4

Hi! I feel crazy because I'm trapped in the house with the flu watching Boy Meets World. If I see Ben Savage spazz out one more time I will die!

Chapter 4

~Roxas~

I don't get paid enough for this job.

Right now, I'm attempting to bandage the very many wounds I've gotten, thanks to Naminé, as well as some new ones obtained by trying to sneak away from Xion and getting pushed out of a tall tree by a really big and really angry bird-of-indistinguishable-spieces.

I'm in my dad's apartment. It's strange, when I had dragged my injured and muddy self to the apartment the doorman didn't say anything when I drifted past him. I got on the elevator and went up to floor thirteen. I counted the doors to seven.

On a hunch, I pulled out my old key and tried it in the lock.

It worked! I went inside (didn't bother to close the door) and flopped down on the old green couch. It let out a puff of dust before the legs collapsed underneath it. I trudged back into the kitchen and found the well-used First Aid Kit.

That's where I am now, in the kitchen.

I'm sore and achy, all I want to do is sleep. But I know I won't be able to sleep in so much pain. I wish I had the medication from the hospital.

I'm about to resort to banging my head on the wall when I hear a low, "Woof."

I turn and see the wolf sitting behind me, a little white bottle in his mouth. I take it and, upon realizing what it is, lurch forward and hug him.

"Thank you thank you thank you!" I run to the kitchen, stick my head under the faucet, get a mouthful of water and take about eight pills. I make an attempt to stagger to my bedroom.

Two steps later I'm unconscious on the floor.

~Xion~

Everything is great.

Riku and I are walking down the sidewalk, my hand in his. It's pretty late and getting dark, but we don't really even pay attention.

At one point I got curious and ask, "Riku, why did you bring me here?"

He is still looking off in the distance when he says, "I don't know. I just thought you'd like it."

I grin a little and squeeze his hand. "Well...I do. Thank you, Riku."

I look over and see him smiling.

Then, I hear footsteps and someone puts their arm around my neck and a gun to my head. Whoever it is pushes Riku forward, almost making him fall.

"Give me all the money you got or your girlfriend dies." He growls, his voice seemed oddly familiar. It sounds like a boy around my age. An impatient and all-around irritated-sounding boy about my age. I turn my head a little and see the boy is wearing a black helmet with a complete black plastic face mask.

Riku takes out his wallet, shows the guy the money like he said and gives it to the boy.

The thief lets me go. I run back to Riku's side and hold on to him tightly. The boy opposite starts backing away, his small black gun still pointed at us. Then, he trips the tiniest bit and pulls the trigger.

Everything is moving in slow motion.

"Xion!" I hear Riku shout as the boy falls back against the brick wall. Riku flashes in front of me, guarding me, protecting me.

Suddenly, his body goes rigid and he falls to the side, clutching his stomach.

I scream and kneel next to him. "Riku! S-stay awake! D-don't...n-no..."

The boy is standing over us, the weapon grasped tightly in his hand. He takes a few steps back.

"I-I'm sorry!" He throws the weapon down.

"I'm sorry!" He turns and runs away.

I whip out my phone and call 9-11.

"Hello this is 9-11, what's your emergency?" A woman asks.

My emergency. Like I own it. My emergency.

"M-my boyfriend...he was shot. It's bad." I sob.

"Ok, sweetheart calm down. Tell me where you are."

I do and she tells me an ambulance is being 'dispatched.'

I stroke Riku's hair out of his eyes and mutter how everything will be alright.

I feel like a liar.

Finally, I hear the sound of sirens approaching. The ambulance pulls up next to us and three men in green and white outfits put Riku on a stretcher and load him into the back of the vehicle. I'm still sitting on the sidewalk when they take him away.

A police car drives up next. The man inside has almost fake-looking blonde hair in layers, the longest layer went down his back in a thin ponytail, almost giving the impression of a tail.

He walks up to me and asks me if I have a way to get home. I tell him no, and he puts his hand on my shoulder and steers me to his car. I sit in the passenger seat and buckle my seatbelt as the young officer does the same.

"My name is Zidane." The man says.

A/N: Ha! I made Zidane a police officer! Ironic, isn't it?

"My name's Xion Bito." I tell him numbly.

"Ok, Xion. I'm gonna ask you a few questions," he shifts the gear into drive.

"Just answer them as best as you can." I nod.

"Ok, what is your affliction with the boy that got shot?"

I sniff. "He's my boyfriend."

He nods. "What's his name?"

"R-Riku. Crescent. Riku Crescent."

The rest of the ride is in silence, that is, until Zidane gets a call on his radio.

I can't understand what it is saying, it just sounds like gibberish!

"Ok, yeah...I'll check it out. Ok..." He says.

He looks at me. "There's an emergency at an apartment complex on the other side of town. I gotta go check it out, see how bad it is...sorry."

I blink. "W-what kind of emergency?" I look forward. "Ah! Keep your eyes on the road!" I scream as we nearly ram into a FedEx truck.

Zidane jerks at the wheel before that can happen, though.

Crisis averted.

"Um...back to your other question um...I'm not sure. I just know it's an injury situation, and it's a teenager."

I turn white. That means it could be a suicide attempt. Maybe not an attempt...maybe a succession.

We drive for a while until a big, grey apartment building looms in front of us. Zidane parks, makes sure his gun is loaded, tells me to stay (like I'm gonna follow him) and runs into the apartment.

I tap my fingers nervously on the console. A few minutes later Zidane runs back out, looking only slightly less calm than before. He pulls the driver's door open and says into the little radio on the dash board, "We've got a possible 10-56. Ambulance needed."

He looks at me. "Everything's fine."

I highly doubt it.

Very soon, an ambulance appears. Two men and two women in blue and white uniforms rush into the apartment then back out carrying someone on a stretcher. I stretch to see who it was and I swear my blood stops pumping.

It's the boy.

I press my face against the window as they hurry past. His face is pale and his hands clutch at his collar, like it's choking him.

Zidane swings back into the car. "Z-Zidane?" I ask.

"Hm?" He starts the car.

"W-what's a 10-56?"

He sits back in his seat. "Attempted suicide."

Suicide? Why would he..?

"W-we're going to the hospital, right?"

He nods and backs out onto the road. "Yeah, and don't worry,"

The car starts moving forward. "I'm sure your boyfriend will be fine."

Boyfriend? He's not my-oh. I feel like an idiot.

I don't say anything until we get to the hospital.

X

Who is the thief? Have I killed Riku? Perhaps perhaps...oh and I want to make it clear that Xion's dad is Beat from The World Ends With You (which I have not played) and that Roxas did not try to kill himself. He just didn't pay attention to the number of pills he took-the idiot. Jk jk, I love Roxas :P

Until next time...g'bye!


	5. Chapter 5

Sadness alert! The following chapter is...quite sad. So, be prepared for tears, pain and a shred of insanity.

It's weird, I've realized, to go from past-tense to present-tense. But in present-tense there's always a possibility the character narrating will die, while narrating! So that's why it has to be done!

Disclaimer: Roses are red, violets are blue, I don't own anything, or know kung-fu.

Chapter 5

~Xion~

I hate the hospital.

I've spent so much time here, all the nurses and doctors know my name. They know my parents, my friends' names...even how I'm doing in gym!

But to make matters worse, this time, it's my boyfriend is lying in the bleached white bed, hooked up to countless life support machines.

Not me.

I'm holding his hand and talking to him about the most pointless things. I notice everything about him. How he's so pale, his dull eyes, his cold hands.

"Riku..." I murmur.

He smiles weakly. "Hey...Xion. It'll be ok. I'll be fine."

"H-how do you know?"

He reaches up and moves my black hair out of my face.

"I don't."

~Meanwhile~

Roxas is lying in his old hospital bed, in his old room. Number XIII.

He hasn't woken up yet, and the doctors are worried. They have many questions that only he can answer.

Why did he attempt suicide?

What happened to his eye?

Why is his back shredded?

And, most importantly...

Who is this boy anyway?

One doctor by the name of Bartz Klause, tries to take a blood sample, but the moment the cold, metal needle touches the boy's skin, an electric shock shoots through the syringe and up the doctor's arm.

"Ack!" He yelps, nearly stabbing the needle into the shoulder of his head nurse, Cissnei Shiruken.

"Bartz! Be more careful!" She scolds, glaring at him on the floor.

"Sorry..." He mumbles, pulling himself up.

Then, an alarm sounds.

~Xion~

I don't move from Riku's side for nearly an hour. The entire time I'm murmuring to him and holding his hand. I'm so afraid.

Where are the doctors? I know they attended to him before I got here because there's a layer of gauze around his middle.

"Xion...could you...?" He moves over a little, I lay down on the stiff hospital bed next to him.

"Riku...w-when this is over..." I try, but I can't think of a good offer for him, so I just hold his hand tighter.

"When...this is over..." He says. I look over at him. He's staring at the ceiling,

"Riku..." I whisper, my eyes filling with salt.

"Sorry, Xi..." He murmurs.

"No! You...you're not gonna die!" I insist, tears pouring down my face.

"I'll...see you..." Riku says, closing his eyes.

"No! Riku! I...no don't!"

Nothing makes sense. He can't die! He's got everything ahead of him! It's not fair!

"Riku..." I sob, burying my face in his shoulder "Oh, Riku..."

My eyes are closed tight, I hear the door open.

"Riku Cres-oh, oh my!" I hear someone gasp, but I don't really care.

A few seconds later an alarm begins to blare. All I can think of is how Riku hated alarms.

The door opens again. Voices.

"Who is that girl?"

"Oh, it's Xion!"

"Is this...?"

"No..."

I feel someone try to pull me away. I scream and refuse to leave his side. Refuse to leave Riku.

So much loud noise.

Another voice yells at the others to shut up.

Thank you.

The voice says quietly to me, "Come on sweetie, there's nothing else you can do for him."

At first, I do nothing. Then, numbly, I open my eyes and stand up. The voice, I discovered, belongs to a female nurse with wavy auburn hair, whose name tag reads Cissnei. I had never seen her before in the hospital.

She takes my arm and leads my out of the room. I don't resist. Just follow.

She takes me into a smaller room across the hall, a silver plaque on the door telling me it was named Fact Within Fiction. I've been going her so long, the names don't seem so weird.

Nurse Cissnei sits me down in a cushy white chair. She sits on the arm as I lower my head and start to cry.

She strokes my hair like a mother would do. "That's it...let it out."

And I did. She started telling me little stories, fables and fairy tales.

My favorite one went like this:

_A little boy and a little girl sat in a treehouse. The boy had messy brown hair and sparkling blue eyes, while the girl had pretty red hair and soft, teal eyes. The boy watched while the girl threaded white string through little holes drilled into yellow and white seashells._

_"What're you doin'?" The boy asked._

_The girl tied a knot in the string, then bit the end off. "Can't tell ya."_

_The boy sat back and crossed his arms irately, but he wasn't actually mad at the girl. He could never be mad at her._

_The girl colored a face on one part of a shell, then took her necklace off. The necklace was very special to the girl, having been given to her by her mother._

_The girl took the teeny tiny crown charm off the necklace and pulled the crisscross seam over the charm. Then, she handed the boy the trinket._

_The boy gasped, his hand held out stiffly. "B-but that's your favorite necklace! It's your good luck charm!"_

_She nodded. "Yup. But I don't need it."_

_The boy cocked his head. "Why not?"_

_The girl closed his fingers around the charm._

_"Because you're my good luck charm."_

I'm not sure how long I sat there and cried, but I know eleven stories later, an electronic voice calls Cissnei to room thirteen.

She stands up. "W-what is going on in room thirteen?" I stammer.

I receive a sad look. "A seventeen-year-old boy overdosed on pain medication."

I gasp. It's him!

"I-I think I know him." I say, trying to sound convincing.

The aubrette raises her eyebrows. "Really? That's great! What's his name?"

Busted! But...then a name bursts out of my mouth.

"Roxas Fair!"

She stares at me for a moment, then nods. "Ok, come with me."

I follow her out of the room and down the frightening white hall. Finally, we arrive at room thirteen, or should I say XIII?

I push past Cissnei and open the door. Inside is a white room with the same furnishings as room XIV, where I stay. A doctor in his early thirties' stands by the cabinets, writing on a clipboard. And the boy...he is laying in the bed, dressed in white cotton pants and a white shirt of the same material. His arms are by his sides and his head is turned toward me, his face contorted in pain and his breath ragged. The edges of the bandage over his eye are wrinkly and dark-colored.

I run to the bed. I grab the boy's hand and look into his face.

"Roxas..." I murmur, because I know that's his name. I just know.

"Please...please be ok." I beg, reaching out to touch his face. The second my hand makes contact, he seems to relax. His breathing returns to normal and he could be sleeping.

If you didn't pay attention to the hospital scene around him.

I turn to the doctor, who I also did not recognize. "Will he...?"

The doctor sighs and puts the clipboard down.

"I don't know. He took at least eight pills. A very strong kind, too. There's really no telling."

No telling...no telling...

"Can't you do something?" I demand, clutching Roxas' hand tighter.

The man ran his fingers through his hair, sighing again. "We've done all we can. It's up to him now."

We could be in a bad hospital soap opera, but we aren't. If we were, I would bawl my eyes out in a dramatic close-up, the screen would fade to black and Roxas would get up and we'd go get coffee.

If only.

"Please..." I pointlessly beg. "I can't lose him too."

The doctor put his hand on my shoulder. "We'll try the best we can."

It could've been a soap opera.

It really could.

X

Ahg! Oh how it hurt to kill Riku! I'm not really a Riku fangirl, but I did develop a teeny crush on him once I finished DDD (but I will love Roxas forever!).

Ok! Please review! They motivate me and occasionally gives me pretty good ideas.

Oh, and I've realized this will be a much shorter story, and that maybe I should've just kept it going with Inheritance...

Yeah, so...g'bye! Don't forget to brush your teeth! :P


	6. Chapter 6

Sorry it's taken me so long! I've been...busy...

Oh, and you FF fan'll be proud of me for this one:

Today in science we were talking about genetic blood deceases and my teacher asked if we knew any and I was like, "GEOSTIGMA!"

My teacher (awesomest guy ever! Besides my art teacher :P) was like "Yeah...ok sure..." XD

I also sneezed really loudly in the middle of a math test.

Yeah...I know I'm a freak...

Moving on.

Omigosh (weird way to spell it I know) this chapter is soo Rokusi-ish.

So enjoy!

Disclaimer: I don't even own a decent pencil, what makes you think I own Square Enix? Or anything else for that matter?

Chapter 6

~Xion~

Roxas.

RoxasRoxasRoxas.

Roxas Fair.

Roxas.

I can't stop saying his name (Roxas). It feels like I'll forget it if I don't (Roxas) say it over and over (Roxas) again.

Right now I'm sitting by his bed, gripping his hand with both of mine, my eyes squeezed shut. I'm trying to piece together what a conversation with him would be like. I've heard his voice only twice and it keeps slipping out of my mind. It's surprisingly hard to keep someone's voice in your mind.

Suddenly, a spike of pain shoots up my back. I let out a cry, my eyes flying open. Darkness swirls at the edge of my vision. My breathing begins to slow and my eyes want desperately to close.

I'm being forced to sleep.

I struggle to stay awake, but it's like trying to jump off a cliff from the bottom of it.

Impossible.

Then, unable to keep up the fight any longer, I close my eyes and let myself fall forward, until my forehead is resting on Roxas' arm.

~x~

Xion feels consciousness return to her. She is attempting to look around, but she is paralyzed. Even if she could move, there wouldn't be much of a point; all there is, and ever will be, is black.

"HOW COULD YOU LET THIS HAPPEN?!" A very angry, and surprisingly familiar shout suddenly cuts through the previous silence. The voice is definitely male.

"I'm sorry." A deep, nonchalant man's voice says. "It had to be done."

The first voice replies: "Had to be done?! Please, tell me why you had to do this." The voice was cold and full of venom.

"We have to get to the boy. Your son was in the way." The second voice tells him.

"IN THE WAY?!"

The deep voice sighs. "Stop yelling like it's my fault."

Xion could practically hear the first voice fuming. "NOT YOUR FAULT?! MY SON IS DEAD BECAUSE OF YOUR PET IN THERE!" He screams.

Another sigh. Another voice. "You have a mission." This one is a cool woman's voice.

"Get the boy." She finished.

A sound like a sword was being put into (or...pulled out of) a sheath.

A swish. A choked cry. A thud.

"Now there's an empty room for him." The first voice says.

How is this voice familiar? Why?

Then it hits her:

The voice belongs to Riku's father.

~x~

I sit up and gasp. Bits and pieces of my dream comes back to me.

What does it mean?

Before I can ponder further, a loud crash sounds down the hall. I jump a mile. Loud footsteps echo outside the door. I look around the room and see...

A closet.

I dart into the teeny room, leaving the door a little cracked.

Then _BOOM_, the door bursts open and Riku's father, Sephiroth appears.

~x~

In one hand he holds a long sword, even longer than Roxas'. It isn't as wide, either.

Sephiroth stalks over to Roxas. Xion holds her breath for fear of being heard. She wouldn't have breathed anyway...she is so scared.

Sephiroth tightens his grip on the hilt and the sword shortens to a long knife. He digs the point into Roxas' cheek, pushing his head to the side, as if to examine his face.

"Why..." He murmurs. "Do you, a complete and utter mistake, get to live...while my son is lying dead somewhere?"

Silence. Xion knew this would get very bad very soon.

"Hm?" Sephiroth says. "Can you answer that?"

From the closet, Xion can't see Sephiroth's eyes turn dark. But she does see him pull his arm back and whip his knife through the air. A second later, as if on a delayed reaction, a rip appears in Roxas' shirt and then a gash on his chest. He lets out a strained cry of pain. Xion gasps. Sephiroth makes to cut him again, but Xion rushes out of the closet and grabs the sword blade with her bear hands.

~Xion~

I wince as the edge of the sword bites into my palms. Mr. Cres-I mean uh...Sephiroth turns and gives me an icy glare.

Riku's dad scared me anyway, what with the leather and the long hair and the sadistic-ness (quoting Riku) but now I am down right terrified. But I refused to let go.

I refuse to let him hurt Roxas again.

He turns to me, I do not drop the blade.

"Xion Strife." He growls.

I stare in surprise. 'Strife'? Why is he calling me this?

"W-what's that supposed to mean?" I demand, my courage quickly crumbling under the gaze of his cold snake eyes.

He blinks. "Oh that's right. The blonde wretch took your memory."

The first thing that processes is 'blonde wretch', so the first thing I do is shout, "Don't call him that!"

Then the...other thing became realized and I just stood there stupidly.

But Sephiroth didn't notice.

"No? How about urchin? Or worthless?" He begins to advance on me. "Or a waste of a lower life form?"

He puts the point of the (slowly lengthening) sword to my throat. I feel it dig into my neck. Blood begins running out of the wound.

No...I can't die...

But then I realize there's no point in me living. The Geostigma would have killed me soon enough. Peace washes over me. I crane to get one last look at Roxas, but he's not in the bed.

He's behind Sephiroth.

I can just see him standing behind my soon-to-be-murderer, malice in his narrowed cyan eye.

The silver-haired man gasps as an oddly-shaped black blade protrudes from his chest. The sword in my throat shortens and disappears as Sephiroth falls to the side.

My vision darkens and I fall against something. I feel warm fabric pressing against my face and a pair of arms around me. I open my eyes and see I'm leaning against Roxas' chest. He keeps me up and holds his hands to my back.

I feel...strange. It's wonderful, but...weird.

It's like swimming way out into the ocean, then seeing a big wave, and feeling terrified. Then, the wave breaks and sends you spinning into oblivion. Tossing and turning, the taste of salt and the feeling of weightlessness all there is.

What is this?

As this feeling gets stronger, the pain in my neck lessens, then disappears.

Roxas pulls away from me, his hands firmly holding my arms. "Xion..." He whispers.

He opens his mouth to say something, and I feel so...feel-y I don't notice the dark shadow rising behind Roxas. But suddenly, the shadow raises an arm and hits Roxas on the back of the head with an IV pole.

The blonde falls to the floor and the shadow becomes Sephiroth.

~Roxas~

I've pretty much forgotten the whole "Do not make yourself known rule." and am just winging it.

I like this plan.

Xion is in my arms. My eye(s) is(are) closed and I am holding her tightly. Screw the 'mission' I can destroy AVALANCHE with Xion. I'll end up destroying myself if I don't...see her, talk to her...be with her.

I pull away from her, my hands on her arms. "Xion..." I say. Words...I'm not good with words. Being mute for eight years does that to you.

I hear a swoosh and a dull (but powerful) pain erupts on the back of my head. I fall to the floor, fuzziness everywhere.

"My objective has been changed." A voice that belonged to the silver-haired man that had tried to kill Xion says.

A/N: Such a run-on sentence...

My vision clears, but I cannot move, paralyzed. I am lying on my stomach, my head raised just barely off the floor. I see the man cover her mouth with his gloved hand.

He has a fist full of her black hair and is dragging her backwards. A black, swirling portal opens behind them.

"Xion!" I gasp, reaching up and try to grab her, but they are gone.

"Roxas!" She cries, pulling his hand away. The darkness begins to swallow her.

Broken.

I will myself to move, to bolt up. I flash forward and just manage to grab hold of her hand.

~x~

Roxas pulls on her hand, trying desperately to get her back. But a million volts of electricity shoot out of the shadows and hit him square in the chest. He flys back and hits his head on the metal frame of the bed. But again he gets up and runs to Xion. Her fingers were disappearing. Their finger tips brush before Xion's shrink away. Roxas pounds at the white wall with his fists.

"Xion!" He shouts. Then, he stops. He leans his forearms against the wall and rests his head between them.

"Xion..." He whispers to the white paint.

"I will find you."

X

It was weird (and pretty difficult) to write this while listening to Owl City (Adam Young...bless him). If anyone hasn't heard Rainbow Veins, The Saltwater Room, West Coast Friendship or Vanilla Twilight you MUST look them up!

I command you to do so!

Kay bye *puts earbuds back in and air guitars out to Owl City*.

You guys: What a weirdo...

*walk away*

Ok I'll stop ranting and let you go. If you haven't left already.


	7. Chapter 7

Hello! I'm hyped up on about a pound of ice cream, Coke and multicolored heart candy and I feel great! La-la-la-la-listening-to-Greenday-!

Hehehehe...you guys probably don't care, but whatever! XP

Disclaimer: I. Own. Nothing. NOTHING AT ALL HAHAHA!

Chapter 7

~Roxas~

I am going to save Xion. Right now.

Argh..! After I throw up in this trash can...Uuggghhhh...

Those stupid pills! And stupid me for taking so many!

I lay spread-eagle on the cold tile floor, tired and disoriented. I finally get up and put on my regular clothes (if you can call a long, hooded black coat regular), only falling down a few times. I pull on my heavy boots and start to the door. I decide to leave my gloves in my pocket for no real reason.

Once I get outside, the hall shifts and changes. The door I had just exited had gone from XIII to regular old 27.

I sigh, not really fazed anymore, and trudge down the hall.

I'm alone. I look around. I'm lost.

"I've never been in this part of the airport before." I mumble.

I continue down the long corridor, occasionally tripping on the hem of the coat. The door at the end gets no closer. After a while, I stumble and fall. I lay there, unable to do anything really. I feel so weak.

Xion.

I hear her name and lightning shoots through my veins. I bolt up and start running forward. The door gets bigger as I get closer until finally, I burst through.

I collapse on the cold asphalt outside, laughing like a maniac. I allow myself a minute to be crazy, but then I get up and start for the Tram Common, while realizing it's nighttime. Wow.

It's August, so the town is pretty empty. What with the people wanting to get out as soon as possible and stay away as long as they can. But a few kids stick around. I used to be one of those kids. Instead of a vacation, my dad took us to Sunset Hill and we camped there for days until he had to go back to work. We bought Sea-Salt Ice cream and Dad picked us up in his arms and pretended he was going to throw us off the hill.

Memories.

I run through the (thankfully abandoned) sandlot and enter the Tram Common, the weird energy still fueling me. I get to the hole in the bricks (which seems to have shrunk as I have grown) and slip through.

I know the moon shines down, but it's light can't quite cut through the thick canopy. The dense green is suffocating me as I run. It doesn't take long before I am standing in the front lawn of the "haunted mansion." The only things that haunt that place is the souls of AVALANCHE.

The bodies are still there too.

The gate doors are hanging off their hinges, so I easily plod through. One foot on the stone step, I take a deep breath and summon my Keyblade.

~Xion~

"Let me go you creep!" I scream as I am dragged through a land of darkness. I want to get back to Roxas. I need to!

I struggle against Sephiroth, kicking and screaming. Then, the darkness disappears, and we are in a room.

Sephiroth roughly pushes me into a wooden chair and I get a chance to look at my surroundings.

I am in a room with russet walls, with no windows. In front of me is an odd (but somehow familiar) group.

A short man with black hair and bluish armor stands with a very large man in a white t-shirt and camouflage pants, with some silver device on his left hand. In front of me three women stand. One is Riku's mother (which doesn't surprise me), another is a queenly-looking lady with short magenta hair and an oversized blue jacket. Slightly behind them, a brunette woman in all black stands with her arms at her sides and her head down.

She seems to be crying.

"Good work Sephy." Mrs-I mean Paine says, kissing him. I blanch.

A door opens and closes somewhere behind me. A man in a black cape, with red (bloody?) bandages wrapped around his head walks in with a petite girl with blonde hair in a short white dress. She is clutching what looks to be a sketch book.

The man observes me. "You did well Sephiroth." I gasp in realization. The man is the second voice from my dream.

The girl nods enthusiastically. "This will really kill him."

I figured they were talking about Roxas, but I am still confused. "'Him'?" I play dumb. "Who are you talking about?"

She hunches over her pad and scribbles something. She rips the page out and hands it to me. I look at it.

On the page is a picture of Roxas, drawn so well it could almost be a photograph. He is holding a black, key-shaped weapon at his side, a fierce look on his face. I am so intent on the picture, the sound of paper being ripped away from the metal spiral scares me.

The next picture is also of Roxas. This time he is knelt on the ground, cradling a small figure close to him. I look close and see tears dripping off his face. The figure is wearing a short, poofy dress and has choppy black hair. One pale hand is extended and lying dead on the floor. I realize with a start that the figure is me.

X

Man, that chapter was long! Like a million words! Lol. Don't worry the next one will be longer. Oh and did anybody recognize the Warm Bodies reference? I know the movie's not out yet but that line is in every trailer.

On another note, happy almost Martin Luther King Day! Oh look Drake and Josh is on! I feel like a five year old! SO MUCH SUGAR!

Alrighty then, see ya!


	8. Chapter 8

After I put up the last chapter, I just couldn't stop writing! And come on guys, no reviews?

But whatever (no, that doesn't mean you don't have to review, you still do), I hope you like this chapter!

Disclaimer: This is a fanfiction site, if the owner of something is writing a fanfiction about it, they could just change whatever it is! And I am writing, so I do not own Kingdom Hearts. Or Final Fantasy.

Chapter 8

~Roxas~

I push the two-ton doors open and slip into the foyer. It's as dirty and orange as before. More so, in fact, I leave foot prints in the dusty carpet. For a second, I muse where they might be keeping Xion. I look towards the closed door next to the yellow bay window. The basement, of course. The same place they kept me, when I was their prisoner. I cringe at the memory, and my right arm aches even though the wounds had healed forever ago.

I rushed forward through the door, my footsteps thud down the unstable stairs. It is so dark that's all there is of me, footsteps.

The stairs spiral downward. As I near the bottom, a small bit of light becomes visible. My feet hit solid concrete and I see a halo of light in front of me. In the center of the halo, is Xion.

I run to the outside of the halo and look down at her. She is wearing a short, powder blue dress with a 'ballroom style' skirt that goes to her knees. Classy patent leather um...Mary Jane shoes are on her feet (wasn't that Spiderman's girlfriend?). Her eyes are open and glassy.

I fall to my knees next to her and bring her into my arms. "Xion...I'm so glad you're ok." I look into her pale face and hold my fingers in her soft hair.

She just stares at me, breathing slowly through her mouth. Her eyes are cloudy and unfocused. "X-Xion? What's wrong? Are you alright?" I still get no answers.

Something on the ground catches my eye: a glittering string. It is tied to Xion's wrist. I look and see there are strings attached to her ankles, and on her other wrist.

Something is wrong.

In this dress, with her expression, she looks just like a doll.

A puppet.

"Xion," I whisper, clutching her to my chest. "What have they done to you?"

I hear small, tapping footsteps. A light, sugary voice says, "You weren't a very good toy, Roxas. I wanted a doll. Every little girl has a doll. Mine is beautiful, isn't it?"

I look up and see the girl. The 'angel' that gave me the scar on my cheek. The voice that almost killed me a year ago.

"What did you do to her?" I snarl, holding Xion closer, for fear this girl would hurt her again.

"I took her heart. Dolls don't have hearts."

For a moment, I just stare at her. "You...you took her heart?" How was that even possible? She's still breathing...

The girl nodded enthusiastically, causing her blonde hair to bob. "Yes! It took a lot of work...but finally I made her perfect!"

"Perfect?" I echo numbly. No, she was perfect before. This isn't...isn't...

"Yes! Now she can't talk, can't mess up things with her silly words. She can't cry or blush or scream. She can't bleed or run away. And with her strings, I can play with her like she is my best friend! Doesn't that sound wonderful?" She continues to chatter about her plans for 'playtime.'

What kind of horror movie am I locked up in?

"Is she gone...forever?" I whisper, terrified of the answer.

The girl stops, and stares at me. She blinks. "Well, yes. Of course. She's my doll now, and she will be forever."

No, this isn't right. She can't be _gone_. The Earth is still spinning, I'm still breathing, the stars haven't fallen, the sun has yet to blow up, how can Xion be gone? I hang my head and wish for tears.

But this sadness, this crushing despair, is too deep for tears.

I slowly clutch her to my chest, my body only sort-of working. I stare ahead blankly, as if unknowing of my movements.

I am dead now.

"You say her heart is gone?" I ask, my lips barely moving and my voice barely audible.

"Yep!" The girl chirps. I want to kill her. But that wouldn't help Xion.

I slowly and carefully ease her to the floor, before standing. I summon my black Keyblade, and turn it in my hands so the point faces me.

"W-what're you doing?" The girl asks, fear seeping into her voice.

"I'm giving her my heart. It's hers now." I tell her, utterly and completely unfeeling. All that mattered was that Xion would be alive again.

"No!" She shrieks. She runs over to me and rips the bandage off my eye, then holds her hand to my exposed face.

But, as I said before, I feel nothing.

My eye seems healed, I can see out of it, but that doesn't matter. I don't feel dizzy and nauseous anymore, but that doesn't matter. My back doesn't hurt, and my shirt doesn't stick to the wound with blood as before, but that doesn't matter.

Xion needs my heart. I can't keep her waiting.

I readjust my hands again, to make absolutely sure I hit the right spot. I pull the blade to me.

I feel a tiny prick, then nothing. I hear the girl screaming at me, commanding I come back. Threatening to torture me if I didn't.

I don't care.

My heart is leaving my body.

This is my last thought...

I'd better make it worth something...

I know...

This will be worth everything...

Xion...

~x~

What? Huh?

My eyes open to a sharp light. I hear panicked and angry screaming, and my name. I can't focus on anything.

What happened?

A flash of memories nearly knock me out again.

A notepad.

Scars.

His special necklace.

Silent laughter.

A tiny elevator.

First Aid Kits.

Hospital clothes.

Lucky drumsticks.

A ghost costume.

Blue eyes.

Roxas.

Roxas.

Oh, Roxas...

Now I remember. He wiped my memory, but I remember everything now. But where am I now?

I sit up and look around. The creepy girl in the white dress is in front of me, standing over something in all black, screaming. She turns and sees me, then bursts into tears and runs away.

I look at the thing she had been screaming at, and gasp.

It's Roxas.

I crawl over him, still oddly weak. He is lying on his back, his Keyblade on the ground only a foot or so away. His eyes stare into blank space.

"R-Roxas?" I murmur, shaking his arm lightly. "W-wake up. You-you gotta wake up."

He doesn't.

I shake him harder. "Roxas!" I scream, tears pouring out of my eyes. "Please! Come back!"

His hand reaches up and touches my cheek. I hold his hand there, my eyes closed tightly. His hand is bare, and I seek any warmth that might be left in him. Any sign that hope isn't lost.

I lay my head on his chest, listening for a heart beat.

He's alive. But something's off. What's wrong with him? He can still move and breath, but he can't seem to think. I carefully hold his head in my lap and stroke the blonde locks out of his eyes.

"Roxas," I whisper. "What have they done to you?"

"We haven't done anything. He did this to himself." A deep voice says. The man from my dream emerges from the shadows around us.

I look up. "What do you mean?"

The man looks down at us, as if he is a powerful king, and we are peasants he has no time for. "He chained himself up and locked the cell. He gladly leaned against the bars and imprisoned himself."

"I don't understand."

The man sighs like I'm the stupidest person in the world. "He gave up his heart. He is nothing. And now," The man flicks his cape.

"He belongs to us."

I stare. Then, the loud sound of heavy footsteps fills the silence. The man with the strange device on his arm walks in and picks Roxas up, laying him over his shoulder. He turns and starts walking away.

"No!" I scream, running after him. Paine and the magenta-haired woman come at me from either sides and hold me back.

I kick and scream and cry. "Roxas! You can't do this! You can't take him from me!" I fight with all my strength, but to no avail.

Something hard is brought down on my shoulder, and the last thing I see before black is the glint of Roxas' hair.

X

Such an emotionally crushing chapter...oh...but so much love too!

Please review! I really want to know what you guys thought about this chapter! Because uh, it was pretty important...

Whoa...it's almost 12:00! I should probably go to sleep...

Night! Don't forget to shampoo your space monkeys!


	9. Chapter 9

Hehlo! Lol, my space monkeys joke (key word 'joke') got a lot of publicity :P.

On another random note: I finished Crisis Core. *Spoiler alert* OMIGOSH SO SAD! That scream! When he held Cloud's head to his chest, I was just bawling like "Zack you can't die! Cloud will get himself killed without you!" But apparently not...

*End of spoilers*

Oh and to you CloTis out there, I will try to put some Cloud+Tifa in soon, I promise. And Zeriths, there will be some of that. And of course, I'm upping the Rokushi, for obvious reasons.

Wow that paragraph had a lot of words that don't actually exist.

DiZ-claimer (ha!): I do not own Kingdom Hearts, Final Fantasy or anything else mentioned in this story.

Chapter 9

~Xion~

I wake up outside the wrought-iron gate. For a second, I just lie there, dazed and sleepy. I actually fall asleep at one time.

"I'll be up in a minute...Roxas..." I mumble. Then, I shoot up as if burned.

"Roxas!" I gasp, running to the gate. I pull desperately at the bars. But they refuse to open. I look up, trying to gauge if the gate is climbable, when I see something that stops the blood in my veins.

Roxas's coat.

I jump up, grabbing at the black item. Finally, I am able to pull it down. I examine it, making complete sure it's his. When I do, I put it on.

Once my hands slip out the sleeves, I feel...protected. Guarded.

Safe.

I zip the coat up, concealing the awful blue dress I am wearing, then pull the hood over my head. I am about to turn and go back to town so I can think up a plan, when something catches my eye.

A Keyblade.

Only a small part of the end is stabbed into the dirt, but it stands strong. I pull it out.

The Keyblade is mostly white, with yellow and purple running through it. The teeth bit is shaped like a snowflake stuck into a white bar. The handle is purple with feathery white wings curved over it. A chain attached to the end clasps a white star with the word 'Oathkeeper' inscribed on it.

I'm not sure why it is there, but I don't care.

This will help me get Roxas back, and that's all that matters.

~x~

AVALANCHE had put Roxas in the same room Squall had been kept. As a kind of sick joke, they chained him to the far wall, as if he would try to escape.

Naminé is down there now, sitting in his lap, on arm around his shoulder. She stares at him intently.

"You won't run away...will you Roxas?" She asks, stroking his face. Blood flows freely from the wound, but he doesn't wince or cry out. He can't.

"Say something." Naminé whispers. Of course, she gets no response.

"Did you hear me?" She growls, digging her fingers into his bare arm. Without his coat, he is only wearing the black pants and t-shirt.

"I SAID SPEAK!" She shrieks. She racks her nails across his face. Dark blood spills onto the cold floor. Naminé's white dress is dyed red in short seconds.

She springs up. "You don't talk, you don't scream, you don't feel pain...I don't want you." The small girl growls.

Still no reaction. "I DON'T WANT YOU!"

~x~

Inexplicably nervous, I creep through the forest. Halfway to the end, I begin to feel ridiculous. I lower my blade and start walking normally. A second later I hear a swish, then a short whistle.

A reddish cloud appears before me. A man with thick black hair in a red cape stands up in the center of it, and the cloud becomes his cape. I stare.

"W-who are you?" I ask, trying to keep the fear from my voice. But I'm only so strong.

He says something that sounds like "Vincent" but I can't tell. He walks up to me.

I notice the gold claw-things on his left hand. "D-don't hurt me." I whimper involuntarily, closing my eyes.

"Sleep." I hear him say quietly. I have only a second to wonder what he meant, before I fall unconscious.

~x~

I open my eyes and see all white. Sitting up, I see I'm in a white...space, lying next to a small garden.

I feel a presence near me, to my left. I look and see Roxas, sitting against the wall. I scramble up and over to him, wrapping him in a tight hug.

"Roxas! Y-you're ok!" I gasp.

I look up into his face, beaming. His face is blank. He stares down at me emptily.

"R-Roxas? What's...what's wrong?" But he doesn't say anything. Tears begin pouring out of my eyes.

I feel a hand on my shoulder. "He can't answer, dear."

I look behind me and see a beautiful woman with long, braided brown hair. She is wearing a pink dress under a red jacket, holding a small basket of flowers. I sniff. "W-who're you?" I'm asking that question a lot, aren't I?

She smiles at me. "I'm Aerith. Aerith...Fair."

I stare. "Fair? Are you...?"

She nods. "I'm Roxas's mother."

I do not say anything, just open and close my mouth in shock.

Another smile. "Yes. I am dead. You are in Roxas's Promised Land." She says.

"'Promised Land'? What does that mean?" I wonder.

She tilts her head to the side, something I've seen Roxas do a million times, I just never noticed it really. "This is his Heaven."

I feel my face pale. "D-does that mean he's dead?" I find myself wishing for Vincent's claws. Anything would be better than the word 'yes.'

"No." Aerith assures me. I feel a flood of relief.

"Th-then why am I here?" I ask, still nervous.

She gives me a sad look. "You're in Roxas's heart."

I knit my eyebrows. "But...DiZ said...his heart is...gone..." I say.

Aerith brushes something out of her face. I see a little glimmer and realize it's a tear. "He...he gave up his heart...to save you." She whispers.

"What?" He gave up his heart? For me?

I hear heavy footsteps. Two figures step out of the white abyss.

Zack.

Dad.

I shoot up, then run over and hug him. "Dad! What are you doing here?" If this is Roxas's Heaven, why is my dad here?

He stares down at me like the awkward father he is, and hugs me back a little.

"Xion...I have to explain something.." He begins, but I am abducted from behind.

Zack picked me up and spun me around. "Heya kid!" He cheers. "Howzit going?"

After he puts me down, I say, "Um...I'm not sure."

Zack laughs, his wild hair whipping everywhere. Aerith stands up and links arms with him. My dad was inching slowly into the whiteness.

"Dad!" I call back. He freezes. "Why are you here?"

Dad sighs and walks slowly back over. He ruffles my hair and gives me a sad smile very much alike Aerith's.

"Xion...I...I'm not alive...anymore..."

X

Aw, poor Xion...anywayz I have a question:

What do you want to see in the upcoming chapters?

I mean, I know what I'm gonna do and stuff, I just wanna know if there's anything YOU guys want to see. Y'know, pairings in AVALANCHE, dreams Xion has, crazy stuff Naminié does...things like that.

If I don't post by Friday, assume something very bad has happened to me, because I have a feeling that I am screwed.

Ok g'bye and make sure no flying squirrels try to murder you!


	10. Chapter 10

I'M ALIVE!

Hahahaha...so yeah I'm alive, got SIX reviews (thank you to all that reviewed, you will be receiving hugs from Zack Fair very soon)! You guys have some great ideas! I tried to put what I could into this chapter, but most will be in the upcoming. Sorry.

Ok! Introducing...

CHAPTER 10 (wow I didn't even think I would get this many but this story is gonna be longer than I thought).

~Xion~

I stare at him.

"What do you mean 'not alive'?" I demand, terrified.

Dad looks at the floor, like a little boy getting scolded. Zack walks slowly up to me and puts his arm around my shoulder.

"Hey, Xi. Listen. Your dad...he was killed by AVALANCHE." He says quietly.

I refuse to cry, I won't. But the burn of keeping tears in makes me want to cry even more. "Why?" I whisper. I felt like I am spinning, getting dizzier and dizzier every second I'm waiting for his answer.

"They were trying to get to you and Roxas, but Cloud stopped them." Zack tells me gently.

I feel a sudden wave of guilt. "So it's my fault my dad is dead?" I whimper, realizing the truth before the question is even out of my mouth.

I can feel Zack tense in surprise. "What? No! That's...that's not what I meant!"

"Where's mom? Is she dead too?" Zack pats me softly on the back like the sad little orphan I probably am.

Dad cringes and looks at a spot somewhere beside my face.

"She...she joined AVALANCHE."

I stare, unable to process what he had just said. This can't be right...why would mom join the organization that killed my dad? That doesn't make sense...

I need to get out of here! I need to get away from...

Everything.

I pull myself away from Zack and the Keyblade flashes dramatically into my right hand, fitting perfectly into my palm.

"This isn't Heaven." I say coldly, before stabbing the blade into the ground. A blinding, white light explodes out of the Key. I feel a tug in my stomach and then absolutely nothing.

~x~

Tifa is avoiding the rest of AVALANCHE by confining herself to her bedroom.

Because she is the newest 'recruit' in AVALANCHE, she gets the smallest room. It's painted the same rusty orange as the rest of the mansion, but the furniture could have come from a little girl's bedroom. With a canopy bed and a toy box, as well as a white rocking chair, Tifa often wonders if this room had belonged to a little girl before the place was abandoned.

Tifa is sitting on her bed at the moment, staring at the floor. She takes a small piece of paper out of her skirt pocket and looks at it fondly. It is a photograph of her and Cloud and Xion. Xion looks approximately seven years old, and is clinging to Cloud, who is trying to hold this bundle of energy without dropping her. Tifa is laughing at Cloud's awkwardness, one hand holding his arm.

The memory makes Tifa smile. She misses her family, and regrets her decision to leave them every day. Now, the love of her life is gone and her beautiful daughter probably hates her.

The door bangs open without any kind of warning, and Tifa jumps a little from surprise. Paine bursts in and looks at Tifa.

"There you are!" She exclaims. "Where have you been?"

Tifa shrugs. "Here." She tries to discreetly hide the photo, but Paine snatches the memory from her hand.

"What's this?" She examines the picture intently. She laughs. "Oh, it's _him_." She struts around the bed, chuckling. Tifa jumps up, ready to fight.

"Well, news flash sweetheart," The silver-haired woman sneers, ripping the photo into shreds. "We killed him, and he didn't fight back! You left him and gave him nothing to live for."

Tifa feels anger and pain clot her blood at every word that exits Paine's mouth. Her hands are fists are by her sides, and tears are streaming silently down her face.

"It's amazing that he didn't commit suicide before we got there."

"Shut. Up." The brunette says, barely able to contain her building emotions.

"Cloud would never kill himself. He has Xion. He knows he has to take care of her." She growls, defending her husband.

Paine rolls her deep amber eyes. "Cute. You still stand up for that s-" before she could even get her insult out, Tifa was across the room. She hits Paine hard in the face, sending her flying into the wall. She crashes into the dresser and didn't move again.

Tifa stands by her bed, suddenly hyperventilating. Was Paine right? Had Cloud actually wanted to kill himself? Oh, she can't believe this.

Tifa is physically aching she misses Cloud so much. She misses his voice, little snippets of his thoughts and a few sarcastic comments. She misses his adorably messy pale blonde hair. And most of all, his smile. His shy-but-sweet little grin. Tifa had seen this smile only a few times.

She looks around in a flurry. There! She flies over to her side table and picks up the little silver pocket knife she had forgotten there last night. Tifa pulls her leather glove off her left hand and hacks at her small, auburn AVALANCHE tattoo, the mark of her betrayal.

Tifa suddenly feels very lightheaded. She tries to take a step but falls, hitting her head on the white wooden bed frame.

She lays on the ground, staring at the cottage cheese ceiling. "Tifa." She hears someone say, or at least she thinks so.

"Tifa!" The voice calls, it seems so familiar. It's kind and quiet.

She looks around and sees Cloud.

He is standing in front of her, smiling that smile she loves. His eyes beckon sweetly and all Tifa wants to do is be in his arms. He holds his hand out to her and she reaches up to take it, but she hesitates.

"But Cloud..." She whispers. "It's my fault you're dead."

He shakes his head like a child and takes her hand. He pulls her up and holds her tightly. "Tifa, it's not your fault. I died because I wasn't strong enough, not because you left."

She buries her face in his chest and whispers, "So what happens next?"

Cloud pulls away from her and holds her bloody hand up. Then points behind her. She sees herself, lying on the ground, most of the male members of AVALANCHE standing around her. Elfé is kneeling next to her body. Sephiroth is trying to wake his wife in the corner. Everyone seems to be speaking, but the room is on mute.

"You went a little too far Tifa." He says softly. A set of big, white double doors opens in front of them. Tifa can just see a long flight of pale blue stairs descending into Cloud's namesake.

She stares up at him with wide, chestnut-colored eyes. "Are you here to take me?"

He nods and she grips his hand tightly. "I'm scared Cloud." She whispers. This is the first time he had heard her use the words "I'm" and "scared" in the same sentence.

"Don't be." They begin to walk towards the stairs, away from the silent words of AVALANCHE.

"I've been putting this off." He tells her as they climb the first step.

"I've been waiting for you."

X

I...don't even know what to say about that chapter...I really don't know...

Um...pleez review, I'm still taking your ideas and suggestions.

That's all I have to say...too nervous about this chapter...


	11. Chapter 11

Hi! I'm pretty bored right now cuz there's like, six inches of snow where I am right now and I can't do anything!

But you're not here to listen about my life, you're here to read! At least...that's what I hope...

Um anyway, I don't own anything...

Chapter 11

~x~

Xion is standing in total black. It seems like she opens her eyes and wakes up, but she is standing. Standing in this odd, somehow swirling darkness.

She looks around and sees a spot of glowing white a little ways away. Her only hope, she runs to it. The shape begins to take form, the edges sharpen and other colors close to the shade of white becomes noticeable. It's a boy! He has his back to Xion, and he has blonde hair. It's Roxas!

He turns to look at her, and she stops in front of him, panting. Roxas smiles a little at her and she looks him up and down. He is wearing white clothes similar to his hospital wear, but brighter and the material was different. It's like the outfit he wore under his coat, but pure white.

Xion reaches out and touches his arm, but the moment her fingers make contact, he cringes. She draws back. "D-did I hurt you?"

Roxas examines his arm. Xion gasps. Where she had touched there is four black spots, slowly growing. Roxas looks at Xion, a look of worry and shock on his face. A look that says, "What do I do?"

Xion looks at the marks. "Did I do that?" She whispers.

He shakes his head slowly, then looks back at his arm, then back at her like he isn't sure.

Then Xion feels a pair of hands on her back. The hands shove her forward and she collides with Roxas. They hit the cold black floor, Xion on top of Roxas. Her hands are touching his arms, and her face is pressed to his neck. She gets back up and helps Roxas, but when she does, she realizes something is wrong.

Very wrong.

Where Xion had touched him, Roxas had steadily-growing black marks. He looks down at his darkening hands and then up at Xion with fear in his wide, sky-colored eyes. His breathing begins to slow way down and nearly catches in his throat with every gasp. Xion looks on, completely helpless. Roxas falls to the ground and Xion rushes to kneel by his side.

His form shimmers and flickers like a dying candle flame. "Roxas!" Xion breathes. She almost takes his hand, but pulls back quickly, afraid she would hurt him again.

Roxas's eyes begin to cloud over. He reaches up and touches Xion's cheek, she holds his hand there. For a minute, they stay this way, Xion's eyes are closed and she feels something like bliss.

Then, Roxas slowly pulls his hand away shuts his eyes. His hand is blackened, as if burned. Xion is in a panic. "Roxas...you-you're gonna be...you're gonna be o-ok..." She tells him shakily. But he flickers once more, and disappears. Xion gasps and almost screams, but she can't move. Suddenly, the black melts to white and Xion looses consciousness.

~x~

In AVALANCHE, when a member dies, they usually host some kind of funeral.

Not for Tifa.

DiZ had always secretly known the woman's heart wasn't in it. He had known from the moment of Cloud's death that she would leave, or commit suicide. Whatever.

Save for a few members, Elfé, Barrett and Biggs, no one really cared about Tifa's death. They just went about as if nothing had ever happened.

Up in Naminé's drawing room (she doesn't need a bedroom, she doesn't sleep), she draws perfect pictures of Tifa and Cloud. Completed ones are strewn across the table. Them as kids, Tifa threatening to push Cloud out of a tree if he didn't kiss her. Their first date, Cloud tripping the waiter and spilling food all over Tifa. Their wedding, Zack "accidentally" pushing the newly weds into the nearby lake. Pregnant Tifa asleep on a gray couch next to Cloud, who is looking at her with a small smile on his face. Pictures of scenes she shouldn't know. The one she is currently working on is of Cloud and Tifa standing in front of the white door in Tifa's room, Cloud's right hand on the door. Naminé puts the finishing touch on their hands clasped between them, then bounces up and pins her pictures in chronological order. Before those pictures are drawings of Zack amd Aerith's life together, and before them, Sora and Kairi's.

She stands back to admire her work. "Hm...I do rather like the ending of Cloud and Tifa's...but I did better work on Zack and Aeriths...oh, but Sora and Kairi's was so short, but bright..." She murmurs, tapping her pencil against her cheek.

"What do you think," She twirls around to face her guest sitting at the end of the table.

"Roxas?"

~x~

I wake up, leaning against something rough and stone. My eyes adjust to the world around me and I recognize I'm on the Clock Tower. It's sunset.

I wonder why I'm here, I mean, I fell asleep in the forest, right? I look down, expecting to see the deserted Plaza, but instead there is gray. Like the tower is growing out of fog.

"Where am I?" I shout into the open air, not expecting to get an answer, but I do.

"You are in Roxas's heart." It sounded like Zack's voice, but at the same time, my dad's. Then it sounds like mine, then my mom's. Then the voice turns light and feminine, it sounds familiar, but I can't place it.

"Roxas's heart?" I yell. "Still? How is that?"

The voice answers almost immediately. "His heart is in you."

What? How is that even possible?

As if it heard my thoughts, the voice says, "Let me show you."

The air in front of me shimmers and an image appears. Roxas, on his knees, cradling a girl in blue close to him abd for a moment I feel a pang of...something...in my chest. The girl in white, Naminé (how do I know that?) is standing in front of them, talking animatedly, but I can't hear anything. Roxas gently lays the girl on the ground and stands, summoning his dark Keyblade.

Oblivion...

How do I know that?

He holds the weapon up and stabs himself hard in the chest. He drops the Keyblade and falls to the ground. A sparkling, shimmering heart-shape floats up, away from him. The heart-shape is pink and jaded. It spins and dances through the air, before finally drifting down to the girl in blue. It touches her chest and there is a bright flash that obscures the 'screen.' When the white light disappears, the girl sits up and Naminé runs away. The girl crawls over to Roxas and shakes him, trying to wake him up.

The image evaporates and I realize the girl in blue is me.

X

I know it's kinda short, but the next chapter will be VERY IMPORTANT. It might even be the last...it sort of depends...

Oh and when playing online games with a headset, do everyone else a favor and DON'T SING INTO THE MIC. Like, three times today when I was playing Black Ops Zombies, three different guys started singing nonsense words...it was hilarious and a little distracting...

Ok, enough of my ranting g'bye!

(Don't forget to review!)


	12. Chapter 12

I'm so sorry it's taken me so long to update! But hey, I got six reviews! And this is not the last chapter, in fact, this story is gonna be waaayyy longer than I originally planned. So yay!

Disclaimer: I'm going to blow everyone's mind...

I DON'T OWN ANYTHING! HAHAHAHA!

...I apologize...

Chapter 12

~x~

I am the girl in blue.

Roxas gave his heart to me? Why did I even need it?

I tilt my head up to the sky and whisper, "Why did he do it?"

The disembodied voice(s) answer, "He wanted to save you, Xion."

I stand up on the ledge. A gust of wind nearly blows me off, but I grab onto the cement molding behind me and yell, "Why?! If he's some big, important hero, why did he save me?" I'm angry. This weird voice isn't giving me any satisfying answers.

"Roxas promised Cloud he would protect you. That promise became his life." It sounded sad.

A promise? To my dad? "So...is that why he saved me? To keep that promise?"

"Yes. But he needs it back. Roxas is the only one strong enough to destroy AVALANCHE."

The scene around me starts to flicker. The color fades to gray until I can't tell the tower from the abyss below. Wind begins to howl and rain pelts my skin.

"What's going on?!" I shout over the noise, gripping onto the wall behind me.

"Rox-" "Fight-as-ing-does-want-not-to-you-" I can't understand anything it was trying to say.

Suddenly, the ledge beneath me disappears and I'm forced into a free fall.

~x~

The blackness clears and I realize I am in the forest outside the AVALANCHE mansion.

I stand up and put my hand over my...no Roxas's heart. "I understand." I whisper.

I start back towards the mansion, but as I get closer I feel a weird resistance on my body, as if I'm being pulled back. By the time I get to the gate, I'm struggling just to stay on my feet.

"Xion! Stop!"

I do. I look around for the source of the voice, but see no one. Shaking my head, I think that maybe I'm loosing my mind.

But that's ok. Roxas doesn't need me to be sane.

In icy wind racks my face and blows the coat around my bare legs. I pull the oversized garment around myself and continue my slow, labored walk to the door. After five minutes and a lot of panting, I'm there. Yet another burst of wind blows the silver pendant up off my chest.

Wait.

I pull the chain off and look at it.

It's Roxas's.

Why do I have his necklace? It's his prized possession, the only thing left from his parents. Why do I have it?

I sigh.

I'm taking everything from Roxas.

I push the door open and tiptoe inside. It's very dirty and orange inside. I look at the floor and see big foot prints. By instinct I know they're Roxas's, I walk in his footsteps, so inside them there's a faint outline of my small foot in the orange carpet.

His footsteps veer off to the basement, but somehow I know to walk up the very unstable-looking stairs and to the left. When I get up there I walk down the open hall to the white door. I pause, my hand on the doorknob. I realize that the 'force' hasn't tried to keep me back sense I got inside. Did I just imagine it?

I heard voices somewhere off to my right, in the room next to this one. Quickly, I dart inside and quietly close the door. I press my back to the door and look around.

The room is pure, bright white. There are pictures, drawings it seemed, strewn across the floor and taped to the wall. Gauzy white curtains hide what I presume is a big window. Or maybe it's just a wall. In the center of the room is a long (white) table with three (white) chairs down each side and one at each end. All the chairs are empty, except for the one closest to me. There he is, at the head of the table, a blue oil pastel held limply in his hand, the tip touching the blank paper.

I rush forward and wrap my arms around Roxas. He's alive! I had been worried they killed him...

I pull away and examine him. His arms are fine, the scar on his wrist is gone. Gently, I put my fingers under his chin and lift his face towards me. No wounds. Not even the gash from the woods that never healed, not even the scar from his operation.

He's perfect.

I touch his face, his skin is cold. I listen carefully to his chest, his heartbeat is faint. Physically, he is fine. But...at the same time he was anything but.

I flash back six years to when I found my sister dead in her bed, a knife in her hand and blood pouring from numerous cuts on her arm. Her cyan hair turned black from the liquid. My dad running in at the sounds of my screams and telling me to go to my room and wait. The flashing lights of the ambulance and the sound of my mother sobbing outside my door. I felt an overwhelming sense of panic, of crushing despair.

I feel now like I did then. I bury my face in his chest, my tears soaking the black material.

I look up into Roxas's lifeless blue eyes. "Roxas..." I whisper.

I hold him close to me. If I never let go, he'll never be hurt again. And I can protect him from everything.

Everything.

X

Guest: The black-marks dream didn't really have any meaning. It was just showing Xion's fear of Roxas dying and her hurting him, that's all. No foreshadowing. Ooh...or maybe I will...mwahahahaha...

Oh quick question: Who here is a Vanitas fan? I'm thinking about bringing him back...but I wanna see his fangirl value first. So if you love Vani, tell me how much so I can decide whether or not to bring him back.

Ok, that's all I have to say! So until next time...oh look a bunny...*chases after bunny*

Thumper! Wait for me! WAIT FOR ME!


	13. Chapter 13

Hi guys! Um...oh thank you to Xionhikairi for reviewing on every single chapter in the last two days! I'll answer some of your questions here:

Dreams and sleep are really important to the story. They help show the characters' inner thoughts and feelings and fears, that's why they're so frequent. Also, something about Roxas's dreams that's really important will be revealed in this story. Also, Xion was able to go into Roxas's Promised Land because his heart was inside of her. And yes, I was too hyper that day. XP

Ok! The results are in...you picked...and...*drum roll*

Vani's comin' back!

He got six votes (as many as I got reviews for this chap), so Imma putting him in!

Disclaimer: I. OWN. NOTHING!

Chapter 13

~Roxas~

It's so cold.

I'm trapped here in my own heart, I can see everything Xion does playing out in front of me like a TV screen. I don't really have a body, I just sort of feel like a disembodied voice, but at the same time, I feel cold.

~x~

I stand up. I'm not entirely sure what to do, but I remember Roxas stabbed himself with the Keyblade...is that what I'm supposed to do?

I summon my Key. It gleams in my hand as I raise it slightly. I reach over and smooth the blonde locks out of Roxas's face.

I take a deep breath and angle the end of the blade over my heart. Closing my eyes, I count to three.

"One...two...three..." I felt tears slip out of my eyes as I whisper the last number. I almost back out, but before I can open my eyes, I stab the blade at my chest.

~x~

No!

~x~

I blink my oddly tired eyes. Where am I? Who am I and what am I doing here? I look around and my memory catches up with me.

I'm in a white room, much like that of the hospital I spent a month asleep in. A white table is in front of me and a blue crayon is in my hand. A flash of black catches my eye, I look down and see...

Xion.

No.

I fall to my knees next to her and pull her into my arms. "Xion...no...Xion.." I whisper. I look into her face. A small scrape adorns her left cheek and her eyes have dulled. Her pupils have lightened to pale blue. She's wearing my coat over the blue dress.

We have to get out of here, I know. I carefully pick Xion up in my arms and look around, not even knowing where I am. There's a door next to the table, tucked into the corner. I know using a door will be risky, but I can take anyone who gets in my way.

I kick the door open and walk out. As I expected, no one is in the desolate foyer. Using the enhanced speed I required from these people, I zip down the rickety stairs, raising a cloud of dust in my wake. I pause at the door, waiting for a member of AVALANCHE to pop out and drag me to that test room below my feet, but nothing happens.

Maybe they're on summer break...?

Yeah right.

I carefully and quietly push the door open with the toe of my boot, and walk out. I leave, completely unharmed.

The moment I'm out, I take off. I wonder what's behind the mansion, so that's where I go.

Back here, there's a stone wall, at least twenty feet tall. The stone is gray and smooth. I look around in a panic. There! A part where the wall crumbles and creates something like a staircase. I stumble up the stones, being extra careful not to drop Xion. Once I get to the top of the wall I start moving forward. The forest apparently extends all the way around the mansion, and it's even thicker back here.

I'm exhausted for some reason. For a second I try to believe it's because I had just woken up, but it doesn't feel right. It feels like Mako-induced strain. Sometimes, the concentrated Mako in my system spikes and my body tries to turn the extra stuff into the weird super-power energy, but I'm not strong enough. So, in turn, it wipes me out completely. My vision almost turns black and white while I feel like I'm being pulled to the ground.

Not now! No...I can't...I...

I somehow manage to put Xion down in a patch of soft, green moss before tripping and falling into a babbling creek.

~x~

I awake, cold again. I move to sit up, but I can't. Upon realization that I'm strapped down to a metal table, my heart stops.

I'm dreaming.

I am trapped in one of my recurring nightmares, and I know I'll be stuck until the very end.

The room I'm in is the big white one with the pod-thing behind the freezing table. I struggle against my binds, but I know it's pointless. I can't see the clothes I'm wearing, but it doesn't matter.

At exactly the same time as the other nights, the door swings open. DiZ and that girl...Naminé walk in. Fear floods my blood stream as she stands next to me and smiles.

DiZ just looks down at me coldly. A syringe appears in his hand, quickly filling itself with blue liquid. I gasp silently. Naminé holds her hand on my forehead to keep me still. Her acid touch burns my skin.

DiZ plunges the needle all the way into my right eye, I feel it go straight through the bone at the very back. I try to scream, but nothing comes out.

Another thing about my nightmares. I can't talk again. It's as if, in my dreams, I'm taken back to the day I was captured by AVALANCHE. Taken back to the day my life took a turn for the worse.

Finally, the bandaged man takes the needle out. I pant heavily, I hadn't breathed in my attempt to scream.

More needles. More blood is drawn than I thought I have. The syringes are big, so they hurt awfully. I feel the warm liquid spill out of the countless tiny wounds and onto the table. My shirt soaks up some of it.

Next comes the worst part, I know.

Naminé unstraps my right arm and twists it slowly. I gasp and scream, but it's all silent. Then, there's a series of popping noises, followed by a loud and final, _rip!_

My shoulder is dislocated.

By now, I'm covered in sweat and in terrible pain. I can barely see out of my right eye, but I could be blind and Naminé's sadistic smile would still be etched in my mind.

I heard a low clanging and suddenly, a sharp pain in my forearm. The needle. A few seconds later, I feel fire spread through my veins. Then, a heaviness, like the fire is turning into lead. Soon, it becomes impossible to breathe. I know what this is.

Mako addiction.

Cloud had told me about this. He said it had happened to him when he was first injected with Mako.

He had said when it happened to him, everything was numb and he could barely move. But for me, it was just a different kind of pain.

I heard Naminé's giggle faintly, like breaking glass. Soon joined by DiZ's humorless booming laugh.

At this point, the Mako truly becomes too much for me. There's so much being pumped into my blood, my system starts to think it's an intruder. My body slowly overcompensates, and I die.

~x~

"Ah!" I yell, sitting up. Oh, a dream...that nightmare. I lay back down, but receive a jolt when I do. It's a cold creek I'm lying in.

I shoot up, but fall over when I'm overtaken by pain. Panting on the ground, I force myself to look down at my right arm, the source of my pain. It's covered in small wounds, like little bullet holes. I try to lift it up to look at it, but I can't.

I can't move my arm.

After a few minutes of careful examination, I discover it's dislocated. I sigh and, using my belt, tie my injured arm to a tree branch and twist it like my dad showed me. It hurts like frick, but finally I hear a low _thud!_ that signifies my shoulder is back in it's socket. I kneel next to Xion and carefully rip a section of the coat off the bottom. At least this way when, yes, when, she wakes up she'll be able to walk without tripping.

As I make a sling for my arm, my face pales in realization. The dream. But, I don't understand. I've been having that dream for a year now, so why is it just hurting me this time?

But I don't have time to really think about it, because I hear footsteps. I use my good arm to drag myself over to Xion and shield her. My back is to the footsteps' owner, so I can't see them. As I expect, they stop next to us. But after a brief pause, they continue on.

I wait a moment, then get up. I carefully hide Xion in a bush, then take off in the direction of the footsteps. Thankfully, none of my injuries impair my running.

About a hundred feet away, the forest opens up to a cliff. I stop at the tree line. I can see them well now. It's a boy and he is standing at the edge, he seems to have really spiky black hair, black jeans and a red t-shirt with swirling black designs. He is holding something up, but I'm not sure what. I walk slowly up behind them, and freeze.

He is holding a gun to his head.

"Yo kid!" I yell, even though I'm right next to him.

He jumps and almost drops the weapon. The boy turns and I cringe. It's Vanitas Kazay. And he doesn't look happy to see me.

"Are you the person that walked past me in the woods?" I ask.

"Yes...sorry, did I disrupt your s-" I quickly shove the gun into my pocket so it sticks out awkwardly, then put my hand over Vanitas's mouth before he could get that word out.

"NO! But, uh...don't do this..." I sound lame, like a bad guidance counselor.

The noirette pulls my hand away. "Do I know you?" He demands, glaring.

"No," I say slowly. "you don't. But listen, I understand what you're going through." Why doesn't he...oh, right. Everyone else doesn't know who I am. Xion only knows because she was in my Promised Land.

"You do?" Vanitas asks cautiously. I nod. "I was um...bullied a lot in school. And...I tried to kill myself, but my friend...she helped me..."

Then, he starts crying. Vanitas Kazay, the guy who laughed through the driver's ed movie, crying. I sort of stand there staring at him.

He balls his hands into fists by his sides and hangs his head. "My brother...he...he was killed about a year ago...I just found out.." He whispers.

I lean forward a bit, my brows knit. "What do you mean?"

Vanitas sniffs. "My brother and I lived in an orphanage for a long time...we went through a lot of foster homes...finally, they couldn't keep us together. We were adopted separately, and I haven't seen him since. My adoptive parents just told me."

I stare at him, before finally excepting the roll of 'consoler' and putting my hand on his shoulder. "I'm sorry. My sister was killed a while ago too." I whisper, blinking back tears at the memory of my twin.

"Can I have my gun back?" He asks, lifting his head. I take it out of my pocket and, in one swift movement, hit the side against my leg, slide the bullet cartridge out, empty it of ammo, slide it back in and hand it to him. He gives me a withering look.

"What was your brother's name?" I ask.

He swipes at his eyes. "Sora."

I can't breathe. Sora? Vanitas is Sora's brother? But that means...

"Vanitas," I say, forgetting he doesn't know me. "I know your parents. Your birth parents."

He looks up at me, light in his shining gold eyes. "You do? Take me!" The boy commands.

I step away from him. "Uh...can't...but...do you have a cell phone?"

He gives me a 'from what planet do you come?' look, and says. "Yeah..."

I hold out my hand. He gives it to me and I flip the old, scratched-up Samsung open. I dial Squall and Rinoa's home phone.

"Hello!" Rinoa yelps cheerily.

I pull the phone away from my head before answering, "Um...hey Rinoa. It's Roxas."

I see Vanitas mouth, "Roxas?" With a weird look, before I hear, "HIYA ROXY!"

I cringe. "Uh, quick question."

"What?" She asks.

"How many sons do you have?" At this point, Vanitas leans close to me so he can hear the conversation.

A pause, a hesitation. Rinoa never hesitates. "Uh...w-we have one..." Vanitas' face falls.

Then she says, "Wait, Squallie's out of the room. Ok, listen." Vanitas leans closer. "We had two. Squall doesn't know. Our other son,Vanitas, was born later, almost by a day. By then, we had already put Sora into the nursery for babies to be put up for adoption, and I knew it would crush him to know we had to give up another little bundle of joy, so I didn't tell him." Her voice cracked at the end.

I look up at Vanitas. His face is ashen.

"Um...Rinoa?" I say quietly.

She sniffles. "Y-yes?"

"Your other son...Vanitas...he's in front of me."

Silence, complete silence.

Then:

"LET ME TALK TO HIM!"

I almost drop the phone, but Vanitas snatches it out of the air and holds it to his ear. "Mom?" He gasps.

"Vanitas?" I can still hear her. "Is...is it really you?"

"Y-yeah...it's me."

I smile a little. They start chattering, Vanitas looks over at me. I salute him and start back to the forest.

X

Ok, it's been decided! I'm doing a filler chapter next time! Because...I like writing about little kids and every story needs a filler chap at some point!

Oh and I wanted to explain about Roxas's Promised Land. It's not really Heaven, it's a safe place in his mind and his heart he's created so he can see his passed family and friends. It's not really where they went when they died. For those of you that have played FF7, or seen Advent Children, you'll get what I mean. It's supposed to be like Cloud's Promised Land that he created so he could talk to Aerith.

Oh and for those of you in the Southern Hemisphere, you should be able to see newly discovered comet Pan-STARRS in the morning somewhere around the sun. Don't look directly at the sun though!

Please excuse me, I'm a serious star-nerd.

Ok, with that aside...BYE!


	14. Chapter 14

Hi guys! Um...this may or may not be the last chapter for a while. The guy that's supposed to fix my iPod may or may not be in town...so I dunno. If you don't hear from me for a while (two to four weeks) then yeah...he's in town.

Um...oh and this chapter is pretty sad. Quick warning. But there's lots of cuteness too!

Disclaimer: I...am too lazy to write this right now XD.

Chapter 14

~x~

Crash!

"AH!"

"Ugh..."

Seven-year-old Vanitas Leonhart sits up in his bed. Actually, it's a cot, but everyone calls it a bed. He looks to his right, where his brother's 'bed' is. His brother, Sora, is screaming and crying. Vanitas stands up and braves the cold floor between them on his bare feet. He kneels by Sora.

"Hey, bro." He whispers, shaking him lightly.

Sora looks up at him, fear in his clear blue eyes. "V-Vani?" He whimpers.

Vanitas nods slowly. "Yeah. It's ok, don't worry. It's just the storm."

Sora's eyes grow even larger, he hadn't realized there was a storm. He just had a nightmare. "S-storm?!" He dives into Vanitas, hugging him tightly.

Vanitas quickly excepts his age-old role as big-brother and hugs him tightly. "It's ok, it's ok..." The blackette chants, patting the back of his brother's head gently.

"Vani...?" Sora whispers.

"Yeah?"

"C-can I...can I sleep with you?" The little brunette looks up into Vanitas's shining gold eyes.

Vanitas nod solemnly and walks him back to his cot next to the wall. He pulls the ratty, colorless blanket off the blue plastic netting. The twins lie down on the small rectangle and Vanitas spreads the blanket over them both.

Sora curls up against Vanitas's chest, holding onto his over-sized navy t-shirt. He falls asleep the instant Vanitas puts his arm protectively over Sora's back.

Soon, Vanitas becomes very tired. When he closes his 24 karat gold eyes, it's like two small lanterns being snuffed out. He tumbles head first into sleep.

~x~

Boom!

"Ah!"

"Huh..."

Twelve-year-old Vanitas sits up in his bed. Actually, it's an old couch. Being the troublemakers in the orphanage, Sora and Vanitas had been herded into the attic, where the only sleeping accommodations where an air mattress and a couch. Vanitas took the couch.

The black-haired pre-teen gets up and walks across the rickety floor to Sora's bed. The other boy is sobbing into his pillow. Vanitas sits on the edge of the mattress and strokes Sora's hair. It's much like the situation five years ago, but Vanitas knows the dreams are worse. And the reality isn't much better.

"What was the nightmare this time?" He asks tenderly, still petting Sora's chocolate-colored spikes. They are, of course, identical to his own black hairstyle.

"M-Mr. Dodge ag-gin. He wouldn't stop hitting you." Sora whimpers, turning to Vanitas.

Mr. Dodge, their...fourth, I believe, foster parent. He was wildly abusive, and beat Vanitas almost every night until the caseworker came and sent the guy to jail. But he never was able to touch Sora. Vanitas couldn't move for two weeks, but that was a small price to pay for his little brother's well being. Unfortunately, Sora had crept down one night at the sound of Vanitas's quieted cries. He saw everything, and was traumatized.

Vanitas wraps his arms around the shaking brunette, and continues his tried-and-true chant of, "It's ok, it's ok..."

But...he wonders if it will be. Will he and Sora be adopted together, as they beg their caseworker (Ms. Farron) to try everyday, or will someone pick up on Sora's innocence and cuteness? Will he be taken away to some horrible child-slave driver? Or will (God forbid) Vanitas be picked first, leaving Sora to fend off bratty food-stealers and constant nightmares alone?

"Vani...?" Sora's plaintive whimper pulls Vanitas from his thoughts.

"Yes, Sora?"

Sora looks down at his lap, as if embarrassed.

"C-can you sleep with me?"

Vanitas nods. "Of course."

And just as before, Sora curls up against Vanitas's chest, clinging to his torn black t-shirt. Vanitas spreads the perhaps-plaid blanket over them both and puts his arm across Sora.

The other's breathing becomes repetitive and deep, signaling he is no longer conscious. It takes longer for Vanitas to fall asleep though, the fear and unknowingness of tomorrow too much for him.

Finally, at three in the morning, he closes his tarnished eyes. Dented and dulled by tears held back for his brother. Tears he couldn't spill, because he had to be strong.

~x~

Crash!

"NO!"

"Sora!"

Vanitas springs from the couch at the sound of his brother's cries. At first he thinks it's another nightmare, but he sees Sora isn't in his bed. He rushes down the creaky stairs and into the play area. The boy looks around frantically, but can't find his brother.

"VANI!" He hears someone scream.

The lobby!

Vanitas runs down a hall and through a door, before crashing into the building's lobby.

Sora is standing in front of Ms. Farron and two people. Vanitas might have noticed how pretty the lady is or how cheerful the man seems, but he is too distracted by the river's-worth of tears pouring out of his twin's eyes. Vanitas wraps Sora in a protective hug while simultaneously glaring at the adult trio.

"What's going on?" He demands as Sora sobs into his shoulder.

Ms. Farron gives Vanitas a sad look. "I'm sorry Van,-"

"Don't call me that." He interjected.

"Vanitas, than. I'm sorry Vanitas," she gives him a 'this is why you're twelve and still in an orphanage' look. "Sora is being adopted."

Vanitas's hardened heart drops.

"W-what?" He whispers, and everything grows quiet. Sora even stops sobbing for a moment.

"Mr and Mrs Fooser want to adopt Sora." The woman says gently.

Vanitas stares up at the two people. "You...you can't do this. You can't take my brother from me."

Ms. Farron turns to them. "Um...would you possibly be interested in adopting both of the twins?"

Mrs. Fooser shakes her head, her blonde hair flys everywhere. "Nope." What is she-five? "We only want him."

Vanitas's jaw drops, he is horrified. "B-but he's my brother. My twin! You...you want to separate twins? You can't do this to us!" At this testimony, Sora begins to wail. Vanitas pats his back reassuringly.

But really, who is he to assure Sora of anything?

"Sorry, but we don't have enough room. Or money." Mr. Fooser says, racking his hand through his thin brown hair.

"Then, maybe, you might consider taking another look at the other boys?" Ms. Farron is obviously nervous. But she has good reason, she's seen several of Sora's tantrums and knows just how protective Vanitas can get. And besides, it's yet to be proven they can survive without each other. They might stop eating or talking.

"No, we've made our decision. We want Sora." Mrs. Fooser chirps.

At which point, Vanitas grabs Sora's hand and pulls him up to their 'room.'

He herds the brunette to the back of the room, where there is a hole in the wall. The matrons had warned the boys about going back there, but one day while playing hide-and-go-seek Sora found a little-boy sized space where the floor extended to. It was a good hiding place, especially if you cover the space with the dark gray towel they had strung up. It makes one nearly invisible.

Vanitas hops on the couch and picks up a book he had seen on the floor. He doesn't know what it is, but it makes him look like he's doing something.

The grown-ups tromp up the stairs to see an empty air mattress and a couch inhabited by Vanitas. Who is, maybe for the first time in his life, holding a book.

He looks up. "Hi." The greeting is paired with cold eyes that make Mr. Farron take a step back in fear.

Ms. Farron however, fears no child. Not even...this child.

"Van." She says, earning herself a glare from the nickname-hating Vanitas. His brother is the only one who is tolerated when it comes to that. "Where is Sora?"

The noirette stands up (Mr. Fooser hides behind his wife) and sets his book on the floor. "Bout yea high?" He indicates his own height. Ms. Farron nods. "Yes."

"Crazy brown hair? Blue eyes?"

Ms. Farron nods again, very used to the children's games.

Vanitas flops back down on the couch. He picks up his book and starts 'reading' (although no one ever actually taught the twins how to read).

"Never seen 'im."

Not a good idea.

Mrs. Fooser turns a funny shade of red. Vanitas stands up and she rushes him. The (possibly insane) woman picks the ravenette up by his jacket collar. "Where. Is. My. Son?"

At this, Vanitas's eyes turn dark. He pulls her hands off of him. His feet hit the ground with a clack.

"Your son? Your son?!" Vanitas yells, taking a step forward.

"He's not your son! He's my brother!" The angry boy screams. They weren't going to take Sora away.

No one could separate them.

Vanitas and Mrs. Fooser start yelling (more like screeching) at each other and Mr. Fooser mumbles something about waiting in the car.

Ms. Farron hears a tiny voice; "Vani...?" She looks for the source and then notices the big hole in the wall. She walks quietly over to the hole and sees a thick gray towel hanging over a bar on the inside of the hole. The lady almost doesn't notice it, but the nearly-silent sobs gives it away. Ms. Farron gently pulls the makeshift curtain away to reveal Sora. His eyes are red and puffy from crying, and his hair is even more disheveled.

The woman held her hand out to the boy, who stares up at her, then drops his eyes and takes her hand. Ms. Farron leads Sora out of his hiding place and back into the bedroom.

The other brother and his now-arch enemy are still shouting at each other. Ms. Farron leads Sora by the hand next to Mrs. Fooser like the mother he no longer wants.

Vanitas stops yelling. "I...I...Sora..."

"Vanitas," Ms. Farron says evenly. "Sora is being adopted. You are staying here."

At this point, Vanitas basically gives up.

"Now, please say goodbye."

He takes two steps forward and numbly wraps Sora in a hug.

"Listen to me, Sora." He whispers into his twin's ear. "Everything is going to be alright. And when we turn eighteen, we'll meet up and go to collage in Destiny Islands together." This was a dream they had shared since they found a Destiny Islands University t-shirt under Sora's bed.

"A-and I'll become an artist and you'll be a guitar player." He adds. They pull apart and Vanitas looks into Sora's cloudy eyes.

"You're going to be fine. You're going to go to school," Here he adds a meaningful glare at Mrs. Fooser. "And meet some hot girl..."

Sora actually giggles. "V-Vani? What if I have nightmares?"

Vanitas reaches around his head and pulls at the clasp and takes his silver necklace off. It consists of a large silver crown on a thick chain. He clasps it around Sora's neck and gives him a weak smile.

"V-Vani?" Sora whimpers.

Vanitas tugs at Sora's clothes, straightening them out like mother would. "Yes?"

"W-will you be ok here alone?"

The noirette stops. He straightens his back. "Y-yeah...don't worry about me. I'm tough." He grins at Sora.

Sora sniffs and smiles bravely. "I love you Vani."

He will not cry. He won't. He can't. Not in front of Sora. No...he has to be strong.

"I...I love you too...Sora."

Sora grasps the metal crown in his hand as Mrs. Fooser leads him downstairs. Vanitas follows behind.

They get to the street, where Sora climbs slowly into their tiny station wagon. Vanitas stands on the concrete steps.

He won't cry...no...no...no...

He cries.

~x~

It's been two years since Sora left. His 'family' hadn't let him write or call, but Vanitas doesn't care. He knows if he hears anything from his brother, he'll lose his mind.

At the moment the raven-haired boy is sitting in an under stuffed chair in the playroom with his back to the playing children in the huge room. The black eye he'd obtained in a fight against some sixteen-year-olds is throbbing. Without Sora there, Vanitas had no one who looked up to him. His temper got shorter and shorter, and he picked fights with anyone who crossed him.

He is staring intently at a loose thread on the dark green couch, when a shadow falls over him. He looks up, glaring.

Standing in front of him is a bald man in a fancy silk suit, looking the teen over.

"I am Mr. Kazay. I have a lot of money." He says.

Vanitas blinks. "Good for you."

The man clears his throat. "I don't think you understand, ah...Vanitas, is it? I want to adopt you."

The black-haired boy raises his eyebrows. "Hm. You're rich. You're bald. You do realize my name's not Annie, right?"

The man looks mildly surprised. "Yes. Vanitas, I am looking for a mature child who does not yell or cry. One that can take care of himself. I need an heir."

Vanitas stares. The man continues. "I will not play with you or pay much attention to you at all. You will attend a private school and be waited on by my extensive staff."

"You want me.." He says slowly. "To come to your house..and live there..until you kick it..and then take all your money? And you won't ever bother me?"

The man puts his hands behind his back. "Indeed."

Vanitas hops up. "Let's go!"

~x~

They arrive at a huge brown mansion. Three men in suits help Vanitas and Mr. Kazay out of the white stretch limo. The moment Vanitas set his combat boot inside the door, he was offered an array of sweets and sodas. How did they know all his favorites?

This is good. He thinks as he cautiously takes a bite out of a piece of chocolate. The moment he bites down, some sour juice squirts in his mouth. He smiles, showing off stained red teeth. Even if the old man doesn't die before Vanitas turns eighteen, by the looks of it, he could steal a freaking lightbulb and still be rich.

"I think," the boy says, blowing a kiss to a particularly cute maid. "I'm gonna like it here."

_In four years, I'll meet with Sora at Destiny Islands. We'll go to collage together and share a dorm. I'll become a world-famous artist and he'll be a rock star._

_And everything will be perfect._

X

Xionhikairi: You're welcome! I mean, someone who reviews on every chapter deserves some recognition in my opinion!

Ok, if I don't get my iPod fixed this week, I'll see you soon!

Please review!


	15. Chapter 15

Hi guys! Sorry for the lack of updation. I had one of those fights with my best friend where he just acts like a...a teenage boy and I wanna throw him to Antarctica, but instead I just don't talk to him for like, two days. But...boys! (No offense to all you guys reading this, I'm sure you're all very wonderful). And so, I lost my muse for two days and the rest...just laziness.

Um, anyway...uh I don't own anything...and

Chapter 15

~x~

My arm is killing me. I have to wonder if I relocated it correctly, because Dad said the pain stopped a few minutes after it was fixed. And yet, I still couldn't move my fingers.

I'm standing next to Xion, trying to figure out my next move. I'd just canceled my last resort, which was Squall and Rinoa. It's awfully tempting to call for help, ask if I could stay with them for a little bit.

But I can't. I refuse to put their son in danger, as I will if I go anywhere near them. As much as I hated Vanitas for breaking my sister's heart, I won't let him die because of me.

I sigh and carefully pull my arm out of the sling. It dangles uselessly by my side. It's a little sickening to see your arm, limp and lifeless, just hanging there.

I kneel by my friend and gently pull her over my right shoulder. I stand up and her fingers tap the small of my back. It hurts terribly to have her resting on my injured shoulder, but I know I might need my left arm. Thankfully, I'm left-handed.

Off I go, I suppose.

I have to lean slightly to keep Xion on my shoulder, so she won't slide off. There's no trail the way I'm going, but I can hear the crashing waves somewhere off to the west. My heavy boots crunch the numerous twigs on the ground, but I avoid all actual plants. I accidentally step on a little yellow daisy and cringe.

My mother had been in love with flowers and plants and the world (makes so much sense now that I know). My father used to joke that if he hadn't come along, she would be married to a peony. I was very close to my mother, especially after I lost my voice, and she taught me everything she knew about the world and how to protect it.

I pause and try again to move my arm, the pain is almost unbearable. I guess I didn't relocate it right, like dad showed me. My dad had taught me all sorts of ways to help myself when I get injured. Splints, tourniquets, I even know how to re-brake a bone correctly if it heals wrong. Dad also taught me a lot of self-defense. I always wondered why.

But now I know. They were preparing me for this. They knew I would become..._this_. That my life would never not be in danger.

And as I walk on, I realize how hard that must have been on them. Knowing their son was going to grow up and have the world dropped on his shoulders. Having to pretend I was going to be ok. When, in reality, they always knew I would eventually have to die.

_Stop it, Roxas. _I scold myself. _No use in bringing yourself down. You're going to die. It's inevitable. So get over it._

I sigh and continue my pain-riddled trudge towards the sea.

Soon, I get so tired I'm just stumbling through the brush, my head down. A chattering noise catches my attention. I look up and see some golden monkeys, sitting together on a thick tree branch. Monkeys?

While I'm wondering why they're here, one of the smaller monkeys crawls down the tree, pulls a branch back and lets go.

It hits me hard across the face. I fall back, dropping Xion. For a minute I just lie on the ground. Then, I leap up and...

_"YOU STUPID FREAKING MONKEYS! ! !"_

~x~

After a long time of angry stumbling, the dense, dark forest opens up to a white sandy beach. I pause at the tree-line, taking in the beauty of it all. The fluffy white clouds, the crystal blue ocean, the same color as Xion's eyes. A little ways away, a sole palm tree waves in the refreshing (and slightly coconut-scented) breeze. I take a deep breath and speed-walk to the ocean.

I start to feel uneasy and sick. Oh no...not another Mako spike. But how? I had just...unless I was asleep longer than I thought...I can't be sure.

I manage to gently lay Xion on the ground before collapsing on the soft sand...

~x~

"Uhh...ehh..." I groan. Groggily, I open my eyes. I make a startling discovery.

I'm half naked and tied to a tree. Upside down.

My arm sticks out at an awkward angle and my face feels hot and thick.

"What...happened...?" I hear a shuffling sound behind me and an old man appears. He has thin silver hair that reaches his chin and is wearing a read cloak. He has a crazy light in his yellowish eyes.

"You're awake." He murmurs in a slick voice.

"Get me down!" I gasp, my face swelling and the cut on my face bleeding profusely.

He pulls out a sword with a crimson blade. In one swift movement, he slices the rough ropes next to my left arm and moves over before I flop down on him. I, instead, land on the sand. My blood starts circulating right again, and I sit up.

I notice my right arm is in a black sling, and there is almost no pain. Also, I see just how unnaturally thin I am.

Honestly, I can't remember the last time I ate. The only reason I weigh over a hundred pounds is muscle weight. But I'm never really hungry. I cringe, realizing I'm probably anorexic by now.

I feel a dull jab in my shoulder. I look up and see the odd man is poking me with the end of his sword. Glaring, I push it away.

"Who are you?" I demand, angry.

He sheaths his sword and looks at me distastefully.

"_The hero! Separated from his two companions, destined for greatness! _I am Genesis Rhapsodos." He proclaims. I stare at him.

"Right..." I mentally start to gauge how hard it would be to knock him out and drag him to the nearest mental hospital.

"And who, like I care, are you? And who's your hostage?" The man drawls, pulling me out of my thoughts.

I scoop some sand into my hand and let it run through my fingers, debating on whether or not I should tell him. Then I figured if I knocked him out and took him to the nuthouse, no one would care who 'Roxas Fair' is.

"My name's Roxas Fair. And who she is is of none of your concern." I answer coldly.

Genesis snaps to attention. He looks at me.

"And...who is your father?" The silvrette wonders, fighting to keep the calm in his voice. My head droops.

"My father was Zack Fair." I say, barely above a whisper.

When I look up, Genesis is staring at me in shock. "Z-Zack?" I nod.

He turns away from me and starts muttering to himself. "But Zack swore to never have kids...no wait, that was Angeal...but with whom? Zack never..." The he straightens up. "The Centra."

After spinning a circle and a half, he points his scarlet-bladed sword at my face.

"Who is your mother, boy?"

I swat the point away. "Aerith Gainsborough." I reply proudly.

His eyes grow huge. "W-where are your parents?"

I stand up defiantly. Ignoring the sudden nausea, I take a step forward and say, "They're dead."

For a very long time it seemed, we stand, staring (or in my case glaring) at each other. Finally, the silver-haired man mutters, "How?"

"Shot. My mom was hiking and a member of AVALANCHE killed her. My dad was shot by the same man while trying to take care of a friend."

He knit his brow, confused. Friend? Angeal?"

Now, I'm confused. "'Angeal'? Who's that?"

Panic crossed his face. "No one no one...um, who are you talking about?"

"Cloud...Strife..." I tell him, kind off (read:very) weirded out.

And...now he looks irritated. "Oh. The little wannabe." Sigh. "I never could tell what he saw in that failure."

The blood rushes to my face. Subconsciously, my Keyblade appears in my hand. I glare hard as blood drips from my palm and onto the sand.

"Don't talk about Cloud that way." I say slowly, defending Xion's father.

He seems surprised. "Eh? Why do you care?"

This time, it's me pointing my weapon at him.

"He is-or was-my best friend's father. He died protecting us. So I suggest you stop insulting him." I growl.

Genesis shrugs. "Fine." Then, he does the unexpected. He grabs the end of my Keyblade, twists it, and somehow throws me into the ocean. I cry out as the salt water rushes through my countless scraps and scratches. The one on my face burns particularly.

Soon, the strong tide pulls me away from the shore. Unable to swim, I start sinking to the ocean floor.

_Some hero you are, Roxas..._I think, angry at myself. _Yes, drowning. Such a heroic way to die...they'll definitely put you in the history books for this..._

No!

I can't die! I have to defeat AVALANCHE! Save Xion! I can't drown!

I kick my legs hard, and use my good arm to pull myself up. My ears pop with the change in pressure, I force myself to keep my eyes open.

My head breaks the surface. I do the whole I-just-saved-myself-from-drowning head toss and start swimming awkwardly to the shore.

I finally stumble onto the sand and flop down, panting. I glare up at Genesis and yell, "WHAT WAS THAT FOR?!"

Well...I meant to yell, but it comes out as, "Wha...was...tha...?"

He tosses the Keyblade down on the ground in front of me.

"Alright," He strolls around me. "I'll train you."

I sit up fast. "What?!"

Genesis nods. "Mm-hm. I'll train you."

"Why?!" I demand. Training? I could barely stand five minutes with this guy, I couldn't be taught by him!

"Well...you're obviously on some I-gotta-save-the-world thing, and you obviously need help."

Obviously.

I guess he has a point. If I want to destroy AVALANCHE, I'll have to be at the peak of my strength.

I sigh. "Fine."

He smiles. The man pulls a small red paperback out of his coat. "Ok. Then drop and give me a hundred."

X

Genesis is indeed OOC. But I want him to be OOC. So yeah.

Ok! So I'm gonna text my friend, we'll probably yell at each other and then he might hit me with a basketball and then we'll eat pizza.

Yes I am saying this like you care. If you do...bless you.


	16. Chapter 16

Hello! Did anyone else have a weird Valentine's Day? My friends tried to host a "Forever Alone" party and well...it didn't go well...

Disclaimer: I own nothing!

Chapter um...16 I think.

~x~

"Wake!" A voice calls, yanking me from my dreamless sleep. My eyes fly open and I spring to my feet.

On automatic, my Keyblade flashes into my hand. "What's going on?" I ask as my vision clears.

When it does, I see Genesis standing in front of me, wielding a large stick and looking much to cheerful for the time.

Which I don't know...the sun isn't up yet.

"What?" I demand. This is almost mandatory. Every day he gets me up at daybreak and I demand what he wants.

"Get up." He instructs. I stand and wave my right arm around, getting ready for the inevitable thousand push-ups. My arm has for the most part, healed, but it still gives me grief every so often.

I am just kneeling to the ground when Genesis nudges me with the stick. "No push-ups today kid."

I cringe. "Kid" was what my dad always called me.

"Today, I'm going to teach you how to create a Road of Light."

He holds the stick out by his side. Shining green numbers wrap around it, like the complicated leet codes Xion and I used (for like, two confusing months) back when I was involuntarily mute.

The stick is transformed to Genesis's Keyblade. The red-blade sword, I learned, was his Key. So he's immortal.

Which means I'm stuck with him forever.

~x~

Roxas stands back up and twirls his Key around nervously. Genesis walks around until he's facing the forest. Holding his blade out, he closes his eyes and a shaft of light shoots out of the end.

Roxas yelps and jumps back, like a scared child. The light pools in the air before Genesis, creating a shimmering oval.

The small blonde tugs at the hem of his borrowed gray shirt. Covered in rips and blood stains from the past three weeks of vigorous training.

Genesis gestures at the floating shape. "This is the entrance to a Road of Light. As a Keyblade hero-"

There's that word again.

"You must know how to use a Road of Light. They can lead you anywhere. As long as it exists."

And then the man walks straight into the questionable portal.

Roxas gasps as the light disappears, without Genesis. He begins to look fervently around for his mentor, but the boisterous man is nowhere to be found.

Then, a sound like shattering glass sounds behind him. The boy spins around and see his teacher, wearing a party hat and holding a slice of white cake.

"Uh..."

Genesis smirks at Roxas's speechlessness and says, "The Farron wedding. Quite lovely."

He blinks and the objects disappear.

"Your turn."

~x~

I stare at him as the cake and hat dissipated.

"Your turn." My (obviously insane) teacher says, pointing at the place he had disappeared a minute before.

I swallow and point my Keyblade at the spot, closing my eyes. Nothing happens. I open one eye and see Genesis standing in front of me. I yell and leap back.

"What kind of ninny are you?" He demands. I raise my eyebrows.

"Excuse me?"

The silvrette sighs. "You can't just point your Key anywhere and hope the portal pops up! You have to think of things that are light and good and pure."

He looks me in the eye. "Got it?" I nod. He moves out of my way.

I take a deep breath and close my eyes. Slowly, I pull my arm up and point my Keyblade at the spot in front of me. I think about the sun and the moon and the stars. About puppies and kittens and the color white. I don't feel anything, but Genesis didn't say I would.

I open my eyes. Nothing.

Oh come on.

"That's it!" I yell. "I give up!" Throwing my Keyblade down. Irritatingly, it reappears right back in my hand.

"Wait!" Genesis exclaims. I hear the shattering glass sound and feel a hand on my shoulder. Turning my head, I see Genesis had used a Road of Light to shoot forward ten feet.

I glare at him. "You just had to rub it in, didn't you?" I demand.

He shakes his head. "No...just...try again."

I sigh irately and turn. I tightly close my eyes and jerk my blade up.

Ok...puppies and kittens and stars...

_Xion liked stars..._

Huh?

_Xion. She loved the stars and the sky and cloud shapes and flowers._

_Remember the light you felt when your heart was closest to hers. When you two weren't "Roxas" and "Xion." You were just two spots of light in the air. You had no name, just an existence. And your existence only wanted to save her. Remember that light. Remember your Promised Land. Remember the love you felt. The love you feel._

_Remember Xion._

I feel a shock go up my legs and down my arms. It doesn't hurt...just tingles. I open my eyes as a white-gold beam shoots out of my Keyblade. I gasp and stare at the almost-instantly forming Road of Light.

Lowering my Key, I look over at Genesis. The what-do-I-do-now emotion is plastered across my face. He smiles encouragingly and gestures to the portal.

I swallow nervously and take three steps, then, I'm covered in light.

When I open my eyes again, I'm in a yellowish world, with streaks of gold and white here an there. I see a little spot of blurry blue in front of me. Smiling, I run towards it.

The blue spot gets bigger and bigger until it's right in front of me. I run through it.

And fall into open air.

I hit the sandy ground of the beach. I seashell scrapes my hand as I look up to see Genesis gazing down at me.

"While you're down there..." He says leisurely. "Give me two thousand push-ups."

~x~

Genesis sighs and jabs the sleeping boy in the side with his boot. "He overdid it. Again."

In the three weeks he's been teaching Roxas, he's learned many things. That he has a freckle on his right ankle (from holding him upside down by his foot one day), that he's allergic to Dream Chocolate, and that he is indeed a natural blonde (but his roots were brown due to Selphie tripping and dumping a bucket of brown paint on his head. And since his hair stopped growing, he was stuck with it). But most of all, Genesis learned that Roxas always overexerted himself. Trying to be better. He always ended up unconscious on the beach. Normally, would've woken up by then and dragged himself to the tree he sleeps against.

But tonight, he is still asleep. Genesis picks him up and carries the thin boy to his little house only about a mile down the beach. He could've used a Road of Light, but he figures poor Roxas needs a break from those.

Only a few steps into the journey, and Genesis hears, "Xi...on..." He pauses to contemplate where the noise came from.

"...Xi...Xion..."

Oh...it's Roxas.

The man looks at his student and sighs again. Then, he turns and starts back to the tree. He props the boy up next to the girl. Immediately he wraps his arms protectively around her. He rests his head on hers and it creates the illusion she has dirty blonde streaks in her hair.

Genesis leans back, a little perplexed. Then he smiled and looks at Roxas.

Roxas, covered in scars an scratches. Emotionally and physically beaten down. And yet, he still seeks to protect this girl, whose name has yet to be mentioned to Genesis.

"You definitely are Zack's son." He whispers, shaking his head. Then, he turns and thinks of his idea of Light.

~x~

_A tall, white tree, full of ripe purple fruit. A young brunette and a young noirette play under the tree, chasing each other. A purple fruit falls on the brunette's head. He falls to the ground and the other rushes to help him._

_"Genesis!" He yelps. "Are you ok?"_

X

There! I'm finished! Now...ASTEROID!

Oh wait...I'm in America and CAN'T see it! Grr...

Anyway...pleez review!


	17. Chapter 17

Hello hello hello! And before you slap your foreheads and exclaim, "Is she sugar high AGAIN?!" I will say...I'm always sugar high. Adhd is fun...(some people would disagree).

Ok well...I don't own ANYTHING!

Chapter...17...maybe...

~x~

_It's been a week since I knocked myself out trying to master Roads of Light. A week since I woke up and found myself cradling Xion against my chest._

~x~

Genesis spins his sword expertly between his fingers. I'm standing in front of him, staring as usual.

"Ok," he says, gripping the hilt. "Today is your last day. If you can beat me in a fight, you can go tomorrow and fight AVALANCHE. If not,"

He tosses the sword in the air. "You die, you're hostage dies, AVALANCHE will take over the world and it will be all your fault."

He catches the sword. "Now. Let's begin."

The man launches forward and, before I can even summon my Keyblade, slashes me across my chest. I gasp and fly back.

The Key appears in my hand and I'm able to guard myself against Genesis's next flurry of attacks.

I dodge an attempt to stab me and bring my blade down on his shoulder. But just before it hits, he disappears and the teeth just dig into the sand.

"What?" I gasp, looking around. Suddenly, a gash appears on my arm. Before the pain registers, another one opens up on the back of my neck.

Then, the realization hits me;

He's all around, but moving so fast I can't even see him. For a long while, he simply buzzes around me, thrusting his sword at random and scratching me.

But then, he materializes in front if me, and kicks me so hard I fly back at least ten feet.

Lying on the ground, bleeding hard. And then, Genesis stalks forward and picks me up by the throat. I choke out pleas and claw at his hands.

"Please...! Genesis!" I manage. He looks at me, his cold eyes pitiless.

"You were too weak, Roxas." My former teacher whispers. "AVALANCHE would have crushed you like a bug."

His grip on my neck tightens. "Mayhap's it's best I end you now."

I hate to admit this. It shows weakness. But...I'm about to die, so what the heck.

At that moment, I immediately start crying. Tears pour down my cheeks and over his hand.

I'm not crying about the end of my life. I'm crying because I realize I'm letting down everyone.

Xion. Cloud. My parents.

Oh yeah, and the world. Once I'm out of the way, AVALANCHE will take over.

_Poor Roxas..._

What? Who's there?

_He can't protect anyone..._

DiZ? Get out of my head! The last voice I hear will not be yours!

He chuckles. _Maybe it is best if Genesis kills you. Less painful._

What are you talking about?

I hear more laughter. _Pitiful little hero..._

"NO!" I scream. I feel something materialize in each of my hands. I slice in front of me, and the pressure relents on my throat.

My vision comes on, even though I didn't know it was off. Fury flows through my veins at the sight of Genesis on the ground nearly in the ocean. I look down and gasp.

In my left hand, is Oblivion of course. But...in my right, there is another Keyblade.

_Oathkeeper._ The name floats through my mind.

I walk two steps forward and point my new Key at Genesis. He laughs (laughs!) and stands up.

"Good work kid." He pats me on the head and walks away.

Ok, I'll admit it. I have a short temper. I'm too proud for my own good, I get that. So it doesn't surprise me when I completely loose it.

"'GOOD WORK KID'?!" I scream. Again, I attempt to throw my Keyblade(s) into the ocean. But before they make contact...they disappear and reappear in my hands.

"ARGH! ! !"

~x~

That night, before I go to bed, I pull my shirt off and quickly wash it in the ocean, because it's beginning to truly disgust me.

Once it's free of blood stains and wet sand, I pull it back on and walk slowly over to Xion.

I lay down next to her on the sand. I tug on her cold hand.

"Xion, please. Wake up. Talk to me. Anything." Of course, she doesn't.

"Xion...I'm sorry. I'm sorry you're like this...but don't worry. I'll help you." I whisper, dragging my finger around in the sand between us.

I take her into my arms, holding her close to me.

I start to absently hum a lullaby. I know it's one my mother used to sing to me...but I can't remember the words. Only the last few lines.

_"And I hope you kept the window open, I hope you looked for me that night._

_When I fell into the stars, I hope you looked for me that night._

_I'll miss you, and I hope you'll miss me. Sorry I can't give you more than a good night."_

"Good night...Xion..." I murmur as fog starts to cloud my vision. I yawn, and then fall asleep.

~x~

"Roxas!"

I bolt up and look around. I'm in the AVALANCHE mansion. More specifically, in the downstairs testing room.

Oh no.

The room is as white and sparkly as ever, with the big folded-flower thing in the middle. Unlike my usual nightmares, I'm not strapped down to a table. On the contrary, I'm standing.

"Roxas!" The cry rings out again. It seems to be coming from the flower. I run up to it and press my face up to a glass petal.

Inside, I can see a person, floating slightly in the water. They're short and...they have...black hai...

Xion?

"Xion!" I yell, banging on the glass. "Xion!"

"It's no use."

I whirl around. DiZ is standing there (thankfully alone), smirking at me. He walks around to the front of the flower, me hopping behind like a child.

I summon my Keyblades and stand, glowering, next to the bandaged man.

He turns to me and I jump back, my weeks of training making me do so. DiZ chuckles. "You are truly worthless. Do you know that?"

My glare simply hardens.

"Are you familiar with Naminé?" He asks nonchalantly, as if he's just asking me about the weather.

My face pales. My back and shoulder ache at the memory of my torture by her hand. "What about her?" I demand viciously, tightening my grip.

"She wants you Roxas."

His gold-no, yellow-eyes sparkle.

~x~

The next morning, at two, I bolt up, terrified. Once I come to my senses and realize it was a dream, I kneel by my best friend. My beautiful, beautiful best friend.

"Xion..." I whisper. "I-I'll never see you again s-so I want to say this while I can."

I swallow hard.

"X-Xion...I-I love you." I say abruptly.

I close my eyes as an odd yet wonderful feeling washes over me. It's like being caught in the eye of a hurricane, being thrown over the crest of a wave and riding a meteor all at the same time.

And I don't know what any of that feels like.

I lean down and kiss her, very very gently, on the lips. Once I pull apart, I sit back and hold her hand to my cheek. Her palm is freezing, but I really don't care. I want to spend a little more time with her. And every second counts.

Finally, I kiss her lightly on the cheek and start walking towards the forest. The sand crunches under my feet. The dark woods get closer and more menacing. I swallow nervously and fidget with my hair.

One good thing about being permanently frozen at fifteen and one quarter, is my hair never grows. So I never have to worry about it getting long and shaggy. But...it is partially brown at the top...

I'm pretty glad I stopped changing at the time I did. No zits, no allergies. I was doing pretty well in the health department I guess...

I'm getting off topic.

Anyway, as I'm getting closer to the mansion, I feel a prickly fear in my stomach. Every sound puts me on edge.

An owl hoots, I freeze.

A leaf falls, I jump a mile.

After fumbling through the darkness for about ten minutes, I remember I have night vision in my Mako-soaked eyes. I blink a few times until everything turns a light bluish color and I can properly see.

Finally, I see the mansion come into view. I pause by a tree and form a plan.

First, I'll get up on the roof and pick off any guards. Then I'll make my way in through the back door.

From there...well, I guess I'll just wing it.

I crouch on the grey wall, looking down for anyone. For a minute, I don't see anyone. But then, I see Biggs walk just below me, fairly close to the wall. He stops and yawns.

I take a deep breath and summon my Oblivion Keyblade (because Oathkeeper has a faint glow). I line it up with his head. Genesis taught me how to use my Key like a Gunblade. I just had to concentrate all my energy into a condensed bullet of pure power. I only have one shot, because one makes me want to pass out anyway. Two...well I'll probably die.

"One...two..." I breathe in and imagine I'm liquifying all my energy and pushing it to my hands.

"Three!" A tiny ball of light shoots out the end of the Keyblade and goes straight through Biggs's head. He falls to the ground with a low thud.

I take a few steps back and run towards the drop of the wall.

I almost don't make it, but I stab my Keyblade into the wall. It nearly re-dislocates my right arm, and I cry out softly in pain.

I pull myself up on the roof and run lightly across the shingles. I make a quick perimeter check, basically just running around the edge of the roof, looking for others that might be on guard. There is no one. I'm partially relieved, because I won't have to use another bullet. But partially irritated. The more I can pick off easily out here, the less I'm up against inside.

But...there's nobody else out here. I sigh and start walking towards the back. I hop off the roof and press myself to the wall.

The door is right next to me. I take a deep breath and grip the doorknob tightly.

"Here goes..." I mumble. I twist the knob and take a step into the mansion.

X

Ooh cliffhanger! Haven't done one of those in a while...

Anywayz...those lyrics Roxas sang, yeah those are mine. I wrote that love song as a lullaby for my god brother and my half sister. So please, do not use the...on second thought, tell me if you wanna use it, message me and I'll give you the full song.

Ok! Next chapter's the big battle...ooh...

Okeeday, so review and uh...I'll give you a puppy dog! With Roxas's hair! Yeah yeah!

Alrighty then, bye-bye!


	18. Chapter 18

Erp! Ok...before you all load your guns and demand what I did with the author, let me just say: I AM the author! Lol...I changed my name. Bangarang means a loud noise or distraction. So I figured...it fits..

Hehehe! It's my birthday tomorrow! Haha my best friend is convinced Peter Pan will come tonight and take me away to Neverland! Man I hope so...

Haha anyway, where the heck are you guys? I've only gotten two reviews for each of the past two chapters! Have you lost interest? Is it boring?

Disclaimer: I don't own ANYTHING!

~x~

I take a deep breath as the door closes behind me. In my mind, I quickly go over my plan of action.

First, I would go around the house and try to kill anyone who is still asleep. Then, cause some sort of uproar to bring the remaining members to me. One huge fight later, I'd be on the very brink of death. Finally, I'll stab myself again. But this time, I'll be so close to dying, I'll most likely bleed out before she can get here.

I smile faintly in the dark and start off down the hall. My hand grazes the wall, searching for a door.

My fingers find a grainy wooden surface. I open the door and peer inside.

The room is lit by a small oil lamp. The walls are painted deep purple and the furniture is clashing russet. There is a thin spindly stick leaning against the wall. I look over at the bed and see...

Ugh. Sephiroth.

The last thing I ever want to see is Sephiroth in bed. Ew. He is snoring, very loudly. I notice he's lying slightly off to the left, an empty space next to him. And then, I really can't help myself, I just have to. I smirk and grab the stick and poke his side. He snorts awkwardly and swats at the air. I stifle my laughter.

I stop and cringe. A little flame of anger flares up inside of me.

"Why am I such a child?" I growl. "Why can't I just grow up?" The stick disintegrates in my hand.

I look around the room for a better weapon than my Keyblades.

There.

There's a small gun on the wall. It's got wooden paneling over greenish metal. I pull it off the dark wall. With shaking hands, I check the cartridge to make sure the ammo is...well, present. And thankfully, it is. Also, I notice, it has what seems to be an effective muffler.

But...I think, looking over at the snoring silvrette, might not need it...over that.

I cock the gun and point it at his forehead. I take a deep breath, close my eyes tight, and pull the trigger.

Bum!

I wince and turn to the door. Back into the dark hallway.

~x~

A few minutes down the corridor, I feel something cold and circular press into my back.

"Don't move." A deep voice behind me says. I freeze.

A large hand clamps down on my shoulder. I am spun around to face...

Barrett.

The dark-skinned man is standing almost a foot taller than me, and at least two hundred pounds heavier.

I feel the blood rush to my toes. My Keyblades appear, disappear and reappear in my hands.

I stare up at him and his forehead scrunches up. "Wait a minute. You're that kid."

My temper takes over. "Oh it's so nice that you bothered to remember my name." I snarl. He blinks and takes a small step back.

"What are you doing here, kid?" Barrett demands, clenching his fist.

"I'm here to destroy AVALANCHE."

At first, he looked a little shocked. But then, his face cracked into a smile.

"Great. I'll help!" He exclaims cheerfully. I stare, openmouthed.

"Excuse me?" I mumble.

He pats the contraption on his arm affectionally and nods. "I was leavin' anyway. They killed my adopted daughter, Marlene. I don' want any part of AVALANCHE. But I will help you."

"Ok..." I can't really believe this...should I trust him? And 'Marlene'? Why does that name sound so familiar?

"How do I know I can trust you?" I demand suspiciously.

He raises his eyebrows. "Well, of course you can trust me!"

I give him a cynical look.

"Besides," Barrett cracks his knuckles. "if I'd wanted to kill you, I would've done it when I had my arm gun pointed at you."

He...has got a point.

"Fine." I sigh. "Here's the plan; you go find Elfé. I want you to kill her in her sleep while I take DiZ." I figured he would be awake.

When I look up at Barrett, he's giving me a, 'do you really know what you're doing?' look.

"Elfé and DiZ never sleep. We'll just have to take them on hand-to-hand! Face-to-face!"

Never sleep? Right, because I can never catch a break.

I look up and notice he's staring at me.

"What?" I demand.

He chuckles. "You look just like your dad."

I raise an eyebrow. "Seriously?" My dad was six foot five and had black hair. I'm five foot eleven and blonder than than a Barbie doll in the summer.

"Yeah short, blonde and quiet. You're the spittin' image of Cloud."

I gape at him. "Cloud?"

He nods and grins nostalgically.

"My dad isn't Cloud." I say slowly.

A confused look converts his face. "He's...not?"

I shake my head. "My dad...was...Zack Fair."

Barrett scratches the back of his head, looking sort of...lost. He paces in a small circle, then turns to look at me.

"Huh," He mumbles.

~x~

"HA-HA! ! ! THIS IS GREAT! ! !"

Roxas sighs. "Barrett!" The blonde whisper-shouts as Barrett destroys a stone column. "I said to make a commotion! Not total the building!"

"Sorry boss!" He calls. Roxas claps his hand to his forehead, then drags it down his face.

"Barrett...just come over here!" Roxas yells. The large man bounds over like a little kid and stands before Roxas in attention. "Do you remember the plan?" He asks. Barrett nods. They start walking back to the doors.

"Wait." Roxas stops and turns to Barrett.

"Once we get rid of them, and I stab myself-" at this point, Barrett marvels at the boy's ability to talk about that. "-I want you to destroy my body."

Barrett stares into the blonde's calm calm eyes. "But-"

Roxas holds a hand up. "Come on."

They run silently back into the house and Barrett darts to the crumbling doorway of the dining room, while Roxas slips down into a small hole in the middle of the left staircase. Barrett pulls the dining room door off of it's hinge and leans it against the frame, concealing himself. Roxas crouches in front of another, much smaller hole closer to the ground. Only his clear blue eyes show.

In a matter of minutes, DiZ and Elfé appear. DiZ has Squall's Gunblade in his hand, Elfé's weapon is a long, silver blade.

"What was that?" The magentette lady looks around, brandishing her sword.

DiZ takes four sweeping steps toward the front doors. "Hm...it seems that someone uninvited is here."

Roxas tenses, his Keyblades flashing into his hands.

"Let's split up." Elfé suggests, DiZ nods curtly and walks off and goes down into the basement.

Elfé spins her sword around in her fingers and takes long strides towards the left staircase. Towards Roxas.

_Oh no..._he thinks as she steps just right of the hole he's looking out of. Elfé pauses, as if hearing his held-in breath. She looks down and Roxas swears she stares through the wood and carpet, right at him.

But she continues up and into the library.

Roxas releases his breath and climbs out of the hole. He motions to Barrett and then towards the library. He nods and runs off.

The Centra boy summons his Keyblades. Slowly, but deliberately, he walks to the basement door.

~x~

The boy appears in a flashing light behind the man. His blonde hair is streaked with the thick dust that clouds the entire mansion. He points his white blade at the man's back, thinking his presence isn't unknown.

The bandaged man turns around and takes a step back in surprise. "You." He whispers.

The boy grins maliciously. "Me."

And then, it begins.

The boy leaps forward and slashes 'at the man's chest. The boy feels an immense power, a fire spreading through his veins.

The man staggers backwards as the boy fires off a volley of light spheres.

Once the attack is over, the man stands up shakily.

"What have you been doing, DiZ?" The boy laughs. "It's been a year! I've been training, getting better." He walks around the man, twirling his white Key around absently.

He stops. "You look...older. I, on the other hand, am still only fifteen."

DiZ scrambles up and lurches forward. The boy counters easily. He sees an opening and kicks the man in the stomach. He flies back into darkness. When he stumbles back, the boy is waiting.

"Give up DiZ. AVALANCHE is fallen. You're the last one." The boy is estimating Elfé is dead by the loud explosion that had sounded while DiZ was coming back.

"Fallen? What are you talking about?" He gasps.

"That's right. I killed Sephiroth and Biggs. Barrett is getting rid of Elfé as we speak." His eyes glint.

DiZ begins to panic. Is the child right? Should he risk calling his bluff?

Then, he remembers how he can regain control of the situation.

"So...Roxas..." He circles the boy slowly.

"What's your master plan? Kill me, then give the girl your heart."

He nods cautiously. DiZ continues. "I suppose you know what that means?"

Roxas is silent. DiZ slashes forward. Roxas barely parries.

"You know, I'm not physic, but let's take a look into the future. I see Xion," Roxas growls when he says her name.

"She's still fifteen, of course. But it seems that she's found a husband. A future Keyblade wielder. I see one...no two children."

Roxas can see it all in his head. Xion, still fifteen but looking somehow older in a blue nightgown. She's rocking a little baby with dark hair. A seventeen year old with spiky black hair stands next to her.

DiZ plows through with his horrible story. "She's grown to hate you. And yet...she still waits at her bedroom window every night. Waiting for you to climb the wall and swing into the window." Roxas yells in anger and jumps forward, but DiZ blocks easily.

And then, he grew a smirk.

"Like you used to do before all this."

He starts hacking at the boy. Roxas's reflexes have slowed, the fire he felt only minutes ago is extinguished.

DiZ cackles as he bruises and scars the boy further. Roxas can't even lift a Keyblade to block the assault.

Finally, he picks Roxas up by his shirt and lifts him to eye level. "You have no idea how long I have waited for this." He whispers before throwing Roxas to the ground.

The man kneels by him. His eyes, which had held so much fire, are dead. He stares numbly up at DiZ as the man aims the gun at his forehead.

"I wish I could make it more unpleasant for you," He whispers. "But oh well."

Roxas blinks slowly as DiZ rests his finger on the trigger.

~x~

_"Roxas!"_

_Huh? Who's there?_

_"You've gotta get up! Fight! Please don't die on me Roxas!"_

Just as DiZ begins to pull the trigger, everything fades to white. I'm standing up. I look around and see that I'm in my Promised Land, but the flowers seem to stretch into eternity. A pair of fair arms encircle my waist.

"Roxas.." A small voice whispers.

And then I'm falling, then lying on my back. Someone is leaning over me. But...my vision is foggy, but I can just make out black hair and blue eyes.

And then...I feel...something soft...touch my lips. Is this a kiss?

Fingers, cool and slim, just barely dance over my neck. It is a kiss!

_A kiss from Xion.._

Happiness floods thoroughly and makes it feel as if I'm...glowing. Shining, shimmering.

The fog in my eyes clears and I am wrenched back into the AVALANCHE basement. DiZ is just about to shoot me in the face, I'm staring down the barrel of the Gunblade.

But the warmth in my heart increases and I beams. A confused look takes over the old man's face.

"Y-You're glowing!" He exclaims, backing away.

The soft, pink light around me seems to get thicker. My smile deepens and I let all of my happiness out in one loud scream. Power explodes out of me in a thick wave of pure sound and cool air.

And then, I am enveloped in a white light. I get an exhilarating tingle all throughout my body. I feel warm and cool at the same time, the temperatures clashing beautifully inside me.

The light disappears and I look down at myself. I feel a few inches taller, and several pounds lighter. My clothes have changed into leather battle armor (including intricately carved breastplate, shin and forearm guards, and something slung over my back) over my favorite jeans and t-shirt. Tiny bolts of lightning scatter over my Keyblades.

Can you say Percy Jackson?

Anyway, I grin at DiZ and point Oblivion at his terrified face.

"Any last words?" I demand. The end of my Key starts to glow.

"P-please don't kill me!" He begs, dropping the weapon.

"Like you ever showed anyone mercy." I growl coldly. By now, the tip is nearly blinding.

"You don't deserve to live." I spit the words out as if they're covered in bitter coffee.

And then, I fire.

A huge ball of light shoots out of my Keyblade. It hits DiZ square in the chest and sends him flying backwards.

He's dead.

X

Yeap! Ok uh...if I don't post within a week...assume Peter Pan showed up and took me to Never Neverland! ! If so...um...somebody (anybody) take the darned story up! I don't want it to crash and burn while I'm off messing with pirates and throwing rocks at mermaids. XP

Well...till next time (MAYBE!) Bangarang!

Oh yeah and REVIEW! ! !


	19. Chapter 19

I'm back from Neverland! Peter Pan said hi! He couldn't handle my awesomness, so he had to send me back.

Grr...stupid Daylight Savings! Whose idiot idea was it?!

Oh my gosh I just finished reading Mark of Athena (newest Percy Jackson book guys).

Oh. My. Gosh.

Ohmygosh!

That's all I'm gonna say.

Um...yeah this is the second-to-last chapter. The next one will be the epilogue and then all the alternate endings...

Ok so!

Chapter uh...I actually forgot...:p

~x~

I take a tentative step towards DiZ's unmoving body. A second later, I hear a terrible wail from upstairs that chills my bones. I freeze and, almost against my will, start up the stairs.

I follow the sound to...

Naminé's room.

I remember being in there. I have memories from my time without my heart. That makes little sense, but I suppose I remember because my brain was still in function.

I put my hand on the doorknob and remind myself that I shouldn't be scared. I just killed the evil leader of AVALANCHE, and hello! I'm still glowing!

I take a deep breath, shake my head as if to clear it, and open the door.

Inside I find her.

She is laying on the floor, in a small puddle of thin, black liquid. There are deep scratches down her face and arms, as if she clawed at herself as she died. Her eyes are wide with terror, but they are no longer the sickly blue. They are pure black, even the white around her iris. It's as if the black stuff, her blood I presume, was poured into her eyes with an eyedropper.

As I gaze down at the dead girl, the subject of my daily nightmares, I feel an odd sadness. It's similar to the sadness I felt when I saw my family dead. Like I have...had...some connection to her.

But why? Why do I feel attached to this girl? Who helped kill my family and tortured me? Why...

Then it all clicks together.

The Mako test that was administered to me a year ago was a sure-fire way to tell if I was a SOLDIER, but they also did a blood test. I remember wondering why at the time.

But now I understand.

It wasn't a test, they were taking my DNA to create her. Which explains her strange likeness to me, and why she wasn't at the first battle.

A wave of nausea hits me as I think of all the people she's hurt and mutilated. As I wonder how something created with my cells could be so terrible. But then I realize; she is what could have been. If I had chosen to use my powers for bad...this is what would have become of me.

I would be a psycho, sadistic...puppet.

Desperate now to get my thoughts off of these bad things, I look up at the drawings on the wall.

I'm drawn to one of Kairi and Sora (pun...sort of intended).

They seem to be standing on a white balcony. Sora is crying and clutching something in his hand. Kairi holds her hand to his face and looks sympathetic.

In the next picture they are kissing, and my big-brother instincts make my blood heat up a little. I see the object Sora is holding up to her head...

It's a gun.

I feel an impact like being punched by a cold boxing glove. It knocks my breath out and freezes my blood.

Sora killed Kairi?

I take another look at the drawing and notice a dark figure in the corner. I lean in and gasp.

It's Xion.

As I stumble backwards, everything starts to make some sense.

It would explain why Sora wasn't there. Why Kairi seemed to have a tiny smile on her dead lips. Why Xion seemed so shaky and nervous.

I ram into the table, which makes me turn. I notice a piece of colored paper on the white surface. It's a picture of Xion and me.

It's in her bedroom. I'm dressed in ratty jeans and a t-shirt, she's wearing white pajama shorts and a long-sleeved aqua-colored shirt. She's crying and I'm holding her close to me, my eyes tired but determined.

I remember that night. I had come home from a long night of depressing soul-searching to find her screaming. She was having a nightmare about me dying in that coma.

I had laid down next to her and wrapped my arms around her thin, shivering frame and her screams dwindled to sobs.

That's all I can take.

I sprint out of that room, down the barely stable stairs, and out the front doors.

I wish I hadn't.

Lying on the hard packed dirt, are Elfé and Barrett. Both bloody and still, their hands reaching towards each other. The tips of their fingers just barely touch.

I check their pulses, but I know they're already dead.

I step back numbly. And then...it hits me. The unfairness of it all.

Elfé and Barrett actually...loved each other.

_And you sent him to kill her._

I stagger back. Where is the great power I felt only moments ago?

_Barrett's daughter is dead. You didn't even bother to remember her name._

I double over, coughing and hacking. Why am I so weak?

_Xion knew about the murder._

Am I choking?

_Everyone has lied to you. But your sins are ten times worse._

My eyes water. Why can't I breathe?

_You're all alone. No one can save you._

"Stop!" I scream. Even in death, DiZ haunts me.

_I will never stop._

"Shut up! Shut up!" I can breathe again, but it's difficult. My chest aches.

_I will continue to torture you until your heart stops beating._

I tear off running. Through the woods.

My running was enhanced along with my strength, but this is ridiculous. I speed past the trees. To any unlucky hikers (who would be out hiking at four in the morning?) I just look like a darkish blur.

I would like to keep running forever, but the beach comes too soon.

I skid to a stop next to Xion and her tree. I tumble into the sand next to her.

Weak...I'm so weak. Did the run do this? It seems like my body is using it's powers to the full extent, like it's trying to waste it.

Like it's trying to kill me by using all my energy. I rip my chest plate off, it's constricting me.

I'm still surrounded by that pinkish glow. But as I crawl closer to Xion, it seems to leach out of my skin and to her. My warmth, along with it. I flop down beside her. The sand offers no comfort.

I shiver and reach for her hand. I hold it to my face. "Xion," I mumble, but it's difficult. My tongue feels thick and my jaw might weigh two tons.

She gazes down at me through crystalline blue eyes.

"Rox...as..." She breaths. I gasp and try to sit up, but the tiredness drags me back down.

Before I loose all my energy, I summon my OathKeeper and put it over my chest. This alone leaves me panting and sweating.

The once light colored Key is now a dull gray. It feels all too light in my hand, like it's about to float away.

I shake my head and remind myself that I don't care. I take a deep breath.

_Stop it you idiot!_

I pause. More voices?

_I didn't die just so you could toss your life out the window! Again!_

I squeeze my eyes shut. "She isn't talking to me...I'm just...I'm just schizophrenic...yeah that's it." I reassure myself.

_Yes I am talking to you!_

"Shut up!" I scream, jabbing my Key into my chest.

This time, it hurts.

The pain is unbearable torture. First, I'm burning hot. It's about to cross the line from boiling lava to burning hellfire, when suddenly, an achy cold spreads throughout my body. It stings terribly.

Then the pain is like my heart is being ripped in two.

No...my heart is being ripped in half!

The pain, the torment erases everything. I struggle to remember my name.

Rox...Roca...?

How old am I? Sixteen or twelve?

Who is my family? Do I have a family? Do I have any siblings? Pets?

Where am I? What am I wearing?

I can't tell you. It's not there.

I hear a scream, and for a moment I believe it's mine. But no. I'm paralyzed. I can't move at all.

Who is screaming?

I force my eyes open. They burn, even delicate at twilight. It takes a lot of strain, but I manage to turn my head toward the left. Toward the screaming.

I see someone, a person, lying next to me. She has short, dark hair and is shaking and screaming. Who is this?

~Xion~

The name drifts through my weakened mind and awakens my crumbling memory.

Suddenly, everything comes screeching back into my brain.

My name is Roxas Fair. I'm sixteen years old. My family was murdered. A huge silver wolf follows me around. I'm on Genesis's beach. I'm wearing jeans, a t-shirt and leather battle armor.

And I'm alive.

Just like that, the pain dissipates.

I push myself up and lean over Xion. It seems that her pain stopped at the same time as mine. Her face is much more peaceful, and her eyes are closed.

I study her face. Take in all the little details. She really is beautiful. How have I never noticed?

The tiny freckle next to her right eye...Her thick, pre-curled black lashes...the thick blonde streak over her left eye...

_Wait a minute._

Blonde streak? When did she get that?

Just as I come to a conclusion, Xion wakes up.

Her eyes flutter and she makes a little cooing sound. Like a dove.

She sits up and stretches her arms, before opening her eyes and looking at me sleepily. "Morning Roxas.." The black-and-blonde-ette mumbles casually. Then she does a double take and jumps on me, squealing. She wraps her arms around my neck. I look into her happily sparkling eyes. A little wave rolls in, wetting the tips of my spikes.

"Xion!" I start laughing at her. But the joy dies quickly. I sit up.

"Roxas?" She whispers, looking up at me.

"Are we...dead?"

I laugh and tears fill my eyes. "No Xion. We're ok."

_We're ok._

~x~

I'm awake! And Roxas is alive! Together, we're together!

I tighten my grip around him, and he chuckles. "Don't worry Xi." He flashes me that beautiful Roxas-smile. "I'm not going anywhere."

"You'd better not!" I tease as tears splash out of my eyes. Still the tiniest bit sleepy, I lean my head on his chest. I breathe in his scent. He smells like summer. Warm and clean, with a hint of sunscreen. And sea-salt ice cream. His very favorite.

"I love you Roxas." I murmur into his shirt, and all of a sudden, I'm flying and swimming and flipping. I'm being tossed over a wave, thrown through a cloud, spun through the eye of a hurrricane.

This is what it feels like. To love someone.

~x~

"I love you too, Xion." I whisper, hugging me closer.

And then, I'm floating through the stars, spinning into a fire. It hurts, but it's the good kind of hurt. The kind that you get after a long run. The kind that means you've succeeded.

This is what it feels like. To love someone.

~x~

We just sit there for a while, him sifting his fingers through my hair. I ball my hands up against his shirt and tug at the grayish blue fabric.

I look up at him.

I scrunch up my eyebrows. "Roxas?"

He blinks his wide eyes. "Yeah?"

"Did you always have that black streak in your hair?"

X

That was undoubtably the happiest, lovey-doveyest thing I've ever written.

Next is the epilogue. And then the alternate endings.

If anybody has any ideas about what I should do for the alternate endings, please tell me. I have zero ideas...

Ok questions! Did you guys like all the Rokushi? Was Naminé's death cool? Do you want to kill me for the BarrettxElfé? I don't support that couple...I don't even think it exists...

Um...sorry about all the random voices...I was listening to Paper Cut by Linkin Park when I wrote this so...XD.

Ok bye!


	20. Chapter 20

Sorry it took so long! I kept stressing and rewriting and junk...

Um...I just watched the Kids Choice Awards, saw Logan Lerman, and had a major freak out. Which included a lot of awkward giggling and pointing and gasping.

**SORRY I'M NOT SORRY**

Then I saw Lucy Hale flirting with him. And I was like Oh. No. She. Didn't.

But hehe...yeah.

Epilogue

~x~

It's been twenty years since then. Since the day I destroyed AVALANCHE and literally ripped my own heart in two. Xion and I have saved the worlds numerous times. We've fought creatures of unspeakable horror and come up scratched and bloody, but still alive. Still together.

Twenty years later and we're both still sixteen. I don't mind. It's kind of nice that we can just be kids.

And we can, very literally, be together forever.

At this very moment, we're arm wrestling.

...

What are we supposed to do? Make out? No...we agreed we won't be one of those couples that seem so wrapped up in each other that they don't care about anything else. She's little more than my closest friend.

Xion is exceptionally strong. Coming from me, that means something. She beats me, slamming my hand down so hard my wedding ring makes a dent in the table.

Oh wait. Maybe I should explain.

Xion and I are married. Well...not by law. By law, we don't exist. Even if we did, by their records, we're underaged. So it's not official.

But I did buy a couple of rings (thank you mom and dad, for the enormous amount of will-money), we did the whole vow-thing, I carried her across the threshold of her parents' house and it was done.

We played around with our last names, trying to figure out if she should use mine, or I should use hers. In the end, we simply decided to switch. I am now Roxas Strife. And she is Xion Fair.

Back to the present.

"Let's go watch a movie Rox." Xion yawns. I nod and follow her into the living room.

Five minutes in to some movie about a televised murder game, she turns to me and I brace myself for what I know is coming. She hasn't sprung the question in a while, so I shouldn't be surprised.

"Roxas, can we have a baby?"

I sigh and pull my fingers through my hair. "Xi..." I murmur. I hate this topic. I don't want to have a kid...

"Roxas." She looks up at me with pleading eyes.

I know how badly she wants to have kids...but in truth, I'm scared. Scared that he or she will go through what we did. Scared to lose Xion or the baby. I lower my head.

She takes my hand and tips my face up so I'm looking at her. "Roxas. Don't be scared. It'll be fine."

She stretches up and kisses my cheek lightly. "And besides," My wife leans back until she's laying flat on the couch.

"You'd be a great dad."

And that, ladies and gentlemen, is where my resolve crumbles.

~x~

Five years later, we're celebrating the fifth birthday of our daughter, Aerith Strife Fair. To give her a bit more independence, we call her Aera (I wanted to nickname her Double-A Battery, but Xion just ignored me when I suggested it).

She has Xion's raven hair (the blonde streak exempted) and my glowing blue eyes.

~x~

The two will have four more kids. Zak, with spiky blonde hair and light blue eyes. The quiet one. Clawd (pronounced 'Cloud'), with messy black hair and aquamarine eyes. He will be the troublemaker. Ahkwa, the brunette with dark eyes. She will be the tough-as-nails little girl. And Teefa. The blue-haired, cyan-eyed bookworm.

~x~

"Un guard!"

Ten year old Ahkwa points her plastic sword at her father, who parries and jumps back.

The two seven year olds (twins don't you know?) are latched around his legs, they laugh hysterically. Eight year old Teefa is curled up in a big chair in the corner, absorbed in a book about a lion and a magic closet.

"Dinner!" Xion calls from the kitchen. The twins detach themselves and speed to the dinner table, ever the bottomless pits.

Ahkwa giggles and skips into the dining room behind them. Aera, having been helping Xion with dinner, joins the kids at the table.

Teefa sighs loudly. Roxas chuckles and says, "C'mon Teef." She looks up at him and pushes her glasses up her nose.

"But I'm at a really good part!" She protests. Roxas laughs and picks her up.

"Well you know what?" He sets her down and kneels in front of the ceruleanette.

"What daddy?" She asks as he sets his hands on her shoulders.

"You'll have more adventures then everyone in that book." He promises.

She cocks an eyebrow. "You mean 'More adventures _than_ everyone in that book.'"

Roxas grins. "Yeah. Something like that. Now come on, dinner's ready."

~x~

Roxas and Xion will live to the age of one hundred and thirty seven. Their children will inherit their Keys when they hit their seventeenth birthday, but Roxas and Xion will continue to not age. When the time comes, they'll simply smile at each other, grasp hands and close their eyes. It will be completely painless.

Aera will marry Vanitas, who was given his father's Key at age eighteen.

Zak will marry a Keyblader named Yuffie, an energetic little firecracker that will be the fire to his ice.

Clawd will meet a cold, serious lady named Elena and melt her stoney heart.

Kirey will 'hook up with' a dark, mysterious man named Vincent Valentine. Xion will nearly have a heart attack when she sees him.

Teefa will find love with a rude, loud idiotic guy who secretly is a Key wielder. His name? Axel Sinclair. Roxas will nearly have a heart attack when he sees him.

Roxas always feared his life would end in a terrible way, but no one would care. But on the contrary, he was missed dearly by his few forever-living friends. Xion was loved by everyone she met. Their children were adored.

The worlds will never be at rest, but perhaps the kids will not have to take on their parents' roles as heroes. If their lucky, they won't ever have to use their Keyblades for anything other than waking their spouses up in the morning (or in the boys' cases, whacking each other on the head).

May the odds be with them.

X

Ok! The first of a few alternate endings should be up soon. In the meantime, I must plan Lucy Hale's murder.

You don't know anything.

...

Bye.


	21. Chapter 21

Yay! First day of Spring Break! (But I only get 3 days because we got so much snow...:( )

Haha I'm having a Prank War with my friends. And I'm winning ;)

Ok uh...Disclaimer: (haven't done THIS in a while..) I don't own Kingdom Hearts. Or Final Fantasy.

But wouldn't that be awesome?

~x~

Xion's vision clears as the pain dissipates. She sits up, but immediately regrets doing so. Her head feels heavy and she is very disoriented.

But somehow she knows that the blonde boy sprinting away at fifty point oh-three-four miles per hour isn't a hallucination.

~x~

Twenty nine-year-old Xion Leonhart stands at the bay window. Rocking her little baby with a gentleness that only comes with weeks and months of sleepless practice.

The breeze from the open window ruffles her black hair like the tender hand of a loving father. Her blue nightgown sways around her ankles.

She hums a lullaby to her cooing baby. A tear escapes her eye. This is _his_ song. That _he_ sang to her.

"Xi!" A still-seventeen-year-old voice calls from the nursery. Vanitas walks in holding Screaming Twin Number Two (aka, Sora).

"Help. Help. Help!" He holds the baby out to her. She sighs and puts Roxas (Vanitas is still clueless to the origin of that name) in his crib and takes Sora.

Because Vanitas is in the room, she doesn't sing his song.

"Rock a bye baby in the tree top. When the wind blows, the cradle will rock..."

Vanitas laughs quietly and puts his arm around Xion's shoulders.

Sora's screaming dwindles to a wail, then a whimper. Then silence. Xion carefully lays him down next to Roxas.

Vanitas stares at her in amazement. "How do you do it?"

She sighs and smiles at him. "Practice. Practice. Practice."

He grins and kisses her. Vanitas is passion, heat. There is never a moment with him when Xion's heart stops racing.

But it's not what she wants.

She wants emotion. And quiet. She wants soft love and sweet harmony. She wants beautiful thoughts.

She wants Roxas.

As his name twists through her mind, a sharp crack of pain shoots through her chest. It's deep and burning, deep like it originates from the very recesses of her heart.

No. His heart.

She falls to the floor, shaking as the blue-tinged visions flit through her mind like birds.

_Combat boots, running through puddle-dotted streets._

Flap, that bird flys away.

_Heavy panting, sweat dripping down a scarred hand._

Another one takes to the sky.

_Scattered, scuttling black bugs, chasing their wounded prey._

And another.

_Blood-dyed blonde hair._

And another.

_An alleyway. A dead end._

"No!" Xion screams, bolting up. Vanitas tries to grab her as she flits away like the blue birds. The birds that hold so much information, but they're so restless.

Xion has to catch them.

She sprints out of their little two-story and on to the empty streets. Once her feet hit the asphalt, they protest and sting. She ignores them and runs the way she feels. The way his heart tells her to go. The two halves are like magnets. They must be together.

Or they're useless.

~x~

She hears him before she sees him.

His screams echo out of the alleyway. Pain is laced through the noise, like he's being tortured.

Xion's unusually fast pace quickens at the sound. She runs into the alley and almost stops when she sees him.

He is lying on the dirty ground, his face contorted in pain. A large pool of some liquid Xion refuses to identify surrounds him, soaking into his black clothes. His eyes are squeezed tightly shut.

The tiny beetle-monsters seem to have left him to his pain. Left him to die.

Xion kneels next to him. He continues to scream. "Shh...Roxas...it's alright. It's alright."

It takes a minute, but he stops. It leaves him a gasping, shaking mess. Xion strokes the hair out of his face gently, murmuring lovely, quiet things to him.

"Xion!" It comes out like a sharp breath, more a sound than a name.

"I'm here Roxas." She whispers, slipping her hand into his. "I'm here for you. It'll be ok."

He squeezes her hand tightly and turns to her, opening his eyes. "Xion. I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry."

This breaks her _(his!)_ heart. How could he think he did something?

"No, no, Roxas. You didn't do anything! Don't...no..."

"Xion..." He whispers. "I-" She covers his mouth with her hand.

"No. Don't say anything."

He blinks slowly. Then reaches up and pulls her hand away. "I...wasn't...gonna say I'm sorry." He mumbles.

"Oh." Xion blushes in spite of herself. "W-what were you going to..say?"

He turns his head away. Like the black wall is so appealing. "I love you Xi."

Her...his...the! heart stops.

Roxas turns back to her. "I had to say that once..." Why are his eyes so dull? "...before I died."

"What?" She gasps. He smiles faintly and closes his eyes.

"No...no Roxas..." Xions lays her head on his chest, trying to hear a heartbeat.

Nothing.

She sits up, his blood covering the entire half of her face. Tears stream out her eyes. As if to show how broken she is inside, Xion's back gives out. This leaves her hunched over, her tears mingling with the thick blood on Roxas's chest.

This isn't fair! He didn't deserve to die!

Not...not so impurely. Not so painfully.

Xion straightens up, throwing her head back and letting out a long scream with even more pain than Roxas's tortured cries.

But then, another strike of pain zaps through her heart. It's excruciating, like being struck by lightning, burned alive and frozen solid all at once.

Xion lets out one last gasp of pain, then falls down next to Roxas.

Their bodies are found a few days later, but they can't determine Xion's cause of death.

But the dark figure standing unnoticed on the street knows.

Xion died of a broken heart.

X

Dun dun DUN! I'll leave the identity of the "dark figure" to you. Whomever guesses the right character...gets to uh...nothing.

don't forget to vote about the next Alternate Ending!

Choices are:

Roxas doesn't beat AVALANCHE.

Xion hates Roxas when she wakes up.

Or...uh I dunno...

Ok! Please review and stuff!


	22. Chapter 22

Hiya! Sorry for the delay...I got sick and didn't want to move for five days...

Um, anyways...

LAST CHAPTER!

~x~

DiZ pulls the trigger.

The glowing bullet shoots out of the steel barrel and zooms towards Roxas at a terrible speed.

He doesn't stand a chance.

Fear shoots through his heart a split second before the bullet pierces it. He gasps, falling back. His head strikes the concrete floor and cracks, making death come quicker, but that second before the darkness is the most painful time of his life.

~x~

Roxas opens his eyes and looks around. He's in his Promised Land.

Thick mist surrounds his mother's flower garden, making it impossible to see anything outside of it.

A dark-haired lady in white robes glides out of the mist. She stops in front of Roxas and regards him coldly.

With her proud eyes and regal expression, Roxas has to resist the urge to bow to her and say, "Your Majesty."

"Roxas Storm Fair?" She asks, and Roxas cringes. No one has used his middle name since he broke the sink faucet when he was five. The name "Storm" was kind of a joke from Cloud. He was Roxas's godfather, so Zack let him pick the baby's middle name.

Cloud had a sick sense of humor.

"Am I dead?" Roxas murmurs.

The black-haired lady nods. "Yes." And with no explination

The lady reaches out and touches Roxas's forehead. She closes her eyes and Roxas stands there, staring up cross-eyed at her fingertip.

He doesn't know how long they stay like that, but after...a long time, she opens her eyes and moves her finger.

The lady nods. "Yes. You are a proven hero."

She turns to the right and Roxas follows suit. White double doors materialize out of the fog and open. Past their threshold is a wide, pale blue staircase framed by lemon clouds leads up into rosy mist.

The lady puts her hand on Roxas's back and begins to slowly lead him to the doorway.

"W-where does that go?" Roxas stutters, pointing at the stairs.

"Anywhere you want." The woman says. "A beautiful modern city...a ranch where the stars are bright as the moon...A warm beach where it never rains..."

That snaps Roxas back to the reality he has just left. "Beach...Xion!" He rips away from the lady and gasps, "I have to go back!"

She crosses her arms over her chest and the silk sleeves flow to the floor like shimmering water. "You cannot. You are dead. Now go."

And that's when Roxas tries to run.

He makes it about two feet before he slams into an invisible wall. Strong, unseen arms grab his wrist and pull him back.

"No! No, let me go! I have to save her!" He screams as the invisible men drag him through the pearly doors.

The last thing he sees before they slam is the woman, watching him icily.

~x~

Roxas wakes up on a beautiful, white sandy beach. A coconut tree shades him from the egg-yolk sun. Crystal water the color of Xion's eyes flows over his sneakers.

...

Xion!

He jumps up and looks around, a fever-like heat burning behind his eyes. "Xion!" He screams at the cloudless sky.

"I'm sorry! I'm so so sorry!"

He falls to the ground and covers his face with his hands.

_Roxas..._

His head jerks up. "X-Xion?"

_Roxas, please...don't blame yourself._

Her voice swirls around him like a gentle wind.

"But...it's my fault. I couldn't save you."

_No...it was my choice. Roxas..._

_Just let go._

He can't believe what he's hearing. Let go?

_Don't worry...I'll be with you soon._

That sentence fills him with both happiness and anguish.

X

DONE! I am done with my first ever chapter story! Hahaha! I feel awesome! But I feel kinda sad...

IS THIS NORMAL?

I mean...I know I'm crazy but...does this happen to everybody? ? ?

Ok um...please review because...I wanna know what you guys think!

Ok bye! (For the very last time)


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